What happens when you put twenty boy scouts on a canceled flight out of Washington D.C.? In reading this personal experience of mine you will find out what happened. There are a couple of things you should know. First, there were actually forty of us. Twenty got put on an early flight out of D.C. The other twenty had to spend the day at the Smithsonian Museum of Air and Space. This may seem a little confusing now, but by the time you finish reading this story, your questions will be answered.

The day turned bad at two AM when all forty of us were sleeping out under the stars at the National Jamboree (big nationwide Boy Scout camp that only happens once every four years) and we heard, “Attention Attention there is a thunderstorm within ten miles.” This message was broadcasted through the entire camp that included about forty thousand people or so. Most were sleeping out under the stars. After the message stopped, a staff member came around and told us to go to the staff dining hall and we would spend the night there. When we got there, we were informed that we would be sharing this with about two hundred other people. Everyone sat against their pile of gear to sleep. When six am rolled around, it was still raining cats and dogs. We all waited about two more hours for our bus to show up. At this point, we were wet, didn’t sleep well, were wearing the same clothes for two days, and none of us were very happy. When the bus did get there, we all got on and started our trip to D.C. (most of us fell asleep).

After arriving in D.C. at the Smithsonian, we all got off the bus. Half of us knew we would spend the whole day here. Our 1:00 flight out of Baltimore had been canceled a few days earlier, so half of us were put on an 8:00 flight out of Reagan. We were to spend the day at the museum which we had already seen. When Noon rolled around, we said goodbye to the first part of our crew who were off for the airport for a 2:00 flight out of Reagan. The other half of us walked around for a few more hours looking at all the biographies and old planes. When 5:30 rolled around, the last half of us got on the bus for the airport. We got to the airport at 5:50 took ten minutes to check in, and 45 minutes to go through security. When we got to the gate, we were informed that we were on our own for supper, so we left to find something warm to eat. Most of us returned at 7:30 and waited to board the plane.

At 8 o’clock we were informed that the flight from MSP was behind, which was the same plane we were going to board. They said, “The plane will arrive in half an hour.” We all went back to what we were doing. At 8:30 the plane got there and everyone got off, so we lined up waiting to board. Instead they said, “Due to a storm in our flight path the flight is delayed until further notice.” Later they came around saying, “It will be a couple more hours.” It was as if time was frozen for the airline. About one o’clock it was getting late so our travel company was getting ready to set up a hotel for the rest of the night when all of a sudden we heard, “Delta flight to Minneapolis St. Paul please board.” The last thing I remembered was the plane moving. Then we were touching down and getting off the plane about three AM.

When we landed we were all greeted by our families who had also been waiting all night for our return. They had a couple of little gifts for our scout masters and we were all on our way home. Now, you ask, what did I learn from this experience. I learned to always sleep when you have the chance because you don’t know what’s going to happen in twenty minutes and that patience is needed in an airport. I hope you enjoyed reading my story about a true experience in my life.