Today, one of the things I've always dreaded happened. At 35,000 or so feet, our 717 from ATL to DCA lost an engine. Now, because I read Ask the Pilot, I know full well that losing one of two engines doesn't really affect an aircraft's ability to remain aloft. Knowing that made a world of difference, as did Natalie's astonishingly calm presence.
But the thudding pop and the lurch were unsettling, as were the claims of passengers nearby who smelled smoke (I did too, but the power of suggestion was strong), as was the flight attendant's explanation that the pilot was looking into it. Probably no more than 10 minutes after the event, the pilot came on the intercom and explained that we had lost an engine, that he and the first officer had "secured it," and that we were diverting to Raleigh-Durham for an immediate landing. He said we'd be on the ground in 15 minutes. Our pitch during descent certainly felt more pronounced than usual. I imagine we were put at the front of the line.
The flight attendants explained, "this is not an emergency landing, yet" and went on to walk us through what would happen should it become one.
Most disconcerting moment? It's a toss up, honestly, between the attendant announcing that we should follow crew directions to the nearest exit only if - and they were very clear about this - the following announcement was made: "Evacuate. Evacuate. Evacuate." [NB: Natalie says they only said "evacuate" twice, not three times], and watching the fire trucks pull up to make sure the engine was not on fire.
Repeated twice or three times, even in preparation for an event that thankfully never happened, that phrase was chilling for this flyer. And the sight of the fire trucks' arrival beside the plane, even if only a by-the-checklist affair, conveyed the seriousness of emergency.
We rented a car for the rest of the trip home.
Most probably, this was a good experience. The panicky flyer learned that even engine failure won't keep the plane from a safe and ultimately uneventful landing. Honestly, among the Things That Could Go Wrong, losing one engine is not so bad.
But I was scared.
If I had a family member who voted for the Republican presidential ticket last November, I'd ask him or her about this story, passed on by the Post's refreshingly critical Dan Froomkin:
Sometimes the best place to find out what the White House is doing is, well, anywhere but the White House.Case in point: Nikki Davis Maute writes in the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American: "Shortly after Hurricane Katrina roared through South Mississippi knocking out electricity and communication systems, the White House ordered power restored to a pipeline that sends fuel to the Northeast.
"That order - to restart two power substations in Collins that serve Colonial Pipeline Co. - delayed efforts by at least 24 hours to restore power to two rural hospitals and a number of water systems in the Pine Belt. . . .
"Dan Jordan, manager of Southern Pines Electric Power Association, said Vice President Dick Cheney's office called and left voice mails twice shortly after the storm struck, saying the Collins substations needed power restored immediately."
I could've sworn that the Yale-educated (well, sort of, anyway) Texan (well, sort of, anyway) appealed not only to some sense that he'd protect us from disasters (well, sort of, anyway) but also that, as a folksy guy with whom I might like to share a non-alcoholic beer or two, he'd look out for the good folks down there in Hattiesburg, who damn sure weren't going to vote for some lib'rul from Taxachussetts.
As it happens, the good folks down there in Hattiesburg (a fine town) (my people hail from north Mississippi, but we make it down to "Hattusburg" ever' once in a while) got short shrift from their pal George, I guess.
Let's be clear. No doubt the argument was made that a ready supply of oil to the northeastern U.S. was more important than providing power to a couple of Hattiesburg hospitals. It's even possible that those hospitals had working generators. The issue, here, is that the president's appeal to everyday-ness (the excuse for his mal mots, we assume) got southern Mississippi nowhere when it was time to get big oil flowing again. Clearing brush? Sure. Clearing brush because he's just like them boys down in Hattiesburg? Hardly.
Last week, my advisor and I agreed that I'll defend my dissertation in late November.
I'm completing the third of three chapters at the moment, and I expect to have a working draft submitted by the end of the week. For five or six years now I've heard stories from ABDs who've lingered, obliged to teaching duties, families, work, whatever, and have suddenly determined to finish post haste. I feel that bug at the moment. My dissertation has been neglected, and so now it gets a daily dose of affectionate care.
Also noted: I smoked the Annapolis 10-Mile run a few weeks ago. 1:16:22. Personal record by more than three minutes. Next up: the 30th Annual Marine Corps Marathon.
natalie has got the meaningful information covered for our household's blogs, so, for only a second, i want to make a brief observation.
[of course, this is for me. everyone knows everything that follows. really, it has no public value at all, but this angry person needs an outlet.]
i saw the president's strange, filmed "briefing" in alabama, during which he heard from the woefully inept fema director*, the alabama and missisippi governors, two coast guard commanders, and a coast guard rescue swimmer.
the following is what we learned from the exchange:
1. fema and the governors explained to the president that some sort of hurricane or something came through and that it was bad.
2. the governors thanked the president for all the great resources he's provided.
3. the governors commended fema for all its top-notch work.
4. the president noted that it had been a bad disaster and thanked a lot of people for their good work.
5. the president promised incoming help and said the recovery would make the gulf coast a better place.
6. the president looks forward to sittin' on the porch of trent lott's beach house, once it's rebuilt.
ok.
if forget whether it was cnn or msnbc, but soon after this mildly surreal performance (seriously, i saw rove cut through one of the set-up shots... i thought he was supposed to be good at this), a few updates from the times-picayune's blog were posted onscreen. one explained that at one of the hospitals, air-lifted food and supplies meant to help had crashed on the roof and were unusable. the requisite "things are deteriorating" appeared at the end of the report. the network immediately cut to a shot of george "i just want to thank the good folks for all the great work they're doin'" bush grinning and waving big as he walked to his helicopter.
is it "making politics" out of disaster to wonder why the president should play his part in a skit about a disaster as people die on sidewalks?
*he who learned on the news yesterday morning that there were people without food and water at the n.o. convention center, he who twice used the unapproachably awful phrase "those who chose to stay" on cnn and then baldly lied about the manner in which he did so, claiming that he'd snuck in a "or had to stay." he keeps repeating that the american people need to know how bad the catastrophe is. oh, we get it.