Winter Wonderland.

My first Christmas this decade with the family in New Jersey was just not meant to be. As you've no doubt heard by now, Denver got some snow yesterday and today. OK, we got lots of snow. Nearly two feet in the city. It never snows like this in the city. In fact, this is just the fourth time in the history of Denver that so much snow has fallen in one storm. Unheard of.

My original plan was to leave Denver on Friday. Ever so brilliantly, Jon woke me up at the crack of dawn on Wednesday. Actually, dawn had not cracked just yet. Jon’s thought was get me out early, ahead of the storm. It sounded like a great idea, it had only been snowing for a little while. Besides, a few extra days in New York City is never a bad idea. I think Jon just wanted to get rid of me before two feet of snow fell from the sky. He knows I tend not to like snow.

I quickly packed my carry-on bag, called the airline to book another ticket and off to the airport we went in Jon’s four-wheeler. Even though it had been snowing for just a few hours, the white stuff was falling three inches an hour so the roads were pretty bad. We made it to the airport uneventfully. Jon is a patient driver.

At the airport, I learned that many others had the same idea as Jon. The airport was a zoo, almost like Madrid’s airport from the level of confusion. Thanks to the wonderful affinity program from Frontier Airlines (Denver’s Favorite Airline), I made my way to the shortest line at the airport. Love that. A smile got me into an exit row Love that, too. Jon and I said our goodbyes and I was off to visit that wonderful federal beauracry know as TSA.

I chatted with one of the TSA employees checking my boarding pass- he mentioned that he would probably be spending the night at the airport. I grimaced and told him it can always be worse- you could be outside instead of in here. He quickly agreed. He gets it, I thought.

Once at the gate, A38, I did what I could to save the charged battery of my PowerBook. It always makes me smile when I experience the automatic, human etiquette of the electric outlets at the airport. Most travelers know how to share, not to take too many outlets, and how to mind the toys of fellow travelers. There I sat on the floor, headphones planted in my ears, reading The New York Times on-line. And this is where that human etiquette ended.

Why is it that people feel it’s OK to beat up on airline employees? I watched dozens of frustrated travelers abuse these defenseless Frontier Airlines employees. I reminded myself how much I enjoyed TiVo-ing the Flight Attendant School program on The Travel Channel. I reminded myself how these airline employees were taught how to not only predict the weather but also how to control the weather. I thought how that must make it OK to be so mean and nasty to these working folk.

On the floor with me were Lisa from Castle Pines and her three charming sons, the oldest of whom was sharing with me an electric outlet. I played with The four of them were also headed to NYC to meet dad, who was working in the city this week. Lisa and I shook our heads at the unfriendly passengers. Her oldest rolled his eyes several times, displaying wisdom way beyond his years. It made me smile. He even helped me figure out my new cool camera, purchased especially to take hundreds of pictures of my adorable nephew, Donovan.

It really looked like we were going to leave. An entire crew had arrived. We had a plane at the gate. But there was still this snow. When the gate employee announced that the flight had been cancelled, she preceded the announcement by asking, “Please don’t throw anything at me.” And she was serious. Wow. And to think she was probably going to miss the holidays with her family too.

As luck would have it, I think I got myself on the last RTD bus out of DIA. Scott, the driver was a total professional. A load of not-so-shiny-happy-people boarded the bus, in the cold blowing snow. He drove, ever so patiently and not much over 20 MPH, and expertly delivered us to the Stapleton Transit Center where Jon was waiting for me in that same heated four-wheeler. As the driver removed our bags from the baggage bins under the bus, passengers picked through the bags, complaining to him to hurry. He was so very patient and kind. As he handed me my bag, I pressed a ten-dollar bill into his hand. He tried to give it back to me, stating he was not allowed to take it. I pressed the bill back into his hand, and asked him just to do something good with it. I know, too Oprah-esque. But I meant it. And I was confident he would do something good with it. Thanks to him, I did not spend 48 hours at DIA like more than 5000 others did on that snowy Wednesday. Thanks Scott. I’m sure not enough people tell him that.