Delta is the pits

I'm in Wilmington, North Carolina for an interview (tomorrow morning). I left Phoenix at 6AM today, and (unfortunately) took Delta to Wilmington...after a stopover in Atlanta of course. You know, I think the old saying is true "Whether you're bound for Heaven or Hell, you'll have a stopover in Atlanta first". I do not like Delta at all - they've got antiquated planes, surly flight attendants (the one in my part of the cabin was a grouchy 40-something guy with a beer belly and a 5:00 shadow). I was stuck on a 20 year old outhouse with wings - two seats in front of the pissoirs, and cheek to cheek with a whining jet engine (MD-88s have the engines bolted onto the tail section, like an afterthought).

Then there was the woman with the whining kids. Of course, it's no wonder they were whining - two boys, about 2 and 4 years old, and she got one seat for them. One airline seat (and we all know how luxuriously wide airline seats are, especially on decrepit planes like Delta operates) for two young kids, and no toys to keep them occupied. What kind of bonehead takes two kids on a 3 1/2 hour flight with nothing to amuse themselves?! Of course, it's not like they could watch a movie on this cross-country flight - oh, no. Like a lot of Delta's fleet, I think this plane rolled off the assembly line before "moving pictures" were invented. Most of the folks within earshot of these kids looked at the mother with murder in their eyes. As for me, I felt pity for the kids for having a mother whose parenting skills rank below those of Britney Spears.

The plane pulled in to gate 30 in the A concourse, and my flight was scheduled to board in 10 minutes (gate D32, of course). They boarded 10 minutes late, so I made it in time. The plane pushed back, then we sat on the tarmac for over two hours while heavy rains kept us grounded. No, the weather isn't Delta's fault, but I hate when the plane pushes back then sits there. At least the flight attendant on this flight was in a good mood - she even gave us water and crackers while we were sitting waiting in the rain. She must have been trained by an airline other than Delta, and they haven't beaten it out of her, yet.