I am sitting here on a runway at La Guardia airport, looking out the window and seeing about 5 other airplanes idling on the tarmac. I am in American Airlines flight 313 allegedly en route to Chicago. I emphasize the word *allegedly* due to the fact that our being sequestered here comes after a one hour delay at the gate. So we were one hour late when we boarded, have been waiting for an hour and now comes word that we will be sitting here for another 2 hours.

With no food.

With no beverages.

With no way out.

To say I am furious it is to put it mildly.

There are people here who woke up at 3AM to make it in time for the pre-boarding harassment that passes as a security check. I woke up at 5AM, got in a bit before 7AM and was forced to check my carry-on after a about half-an-hour of standing in the mess that American Airlines calls "the service counter".

After that mess, I had to wait in line for another 15 minutes to get to the gate. Not to actually go through it but to get to the gate. Once there, a Latino woman found it in her heart to question the validity of not just my passport but also my New York City issued driver's license. Yes. She didn't believe either was real --and boy do I have tons to say in another post about Latinos and African Americans working as security personnel in airports.

Once in the gate I had to wait another 30 minutes or so to go through it. Me and my 2 bags, computer and terrorist loving sneakers.

So by the time I made it to the gate, it was 8:40am. Now mind you, the actual distance between the gate and the terminal's door was probably less than a 5 minute walk yet it took me almost 2 hours to get to the gate.

And then they called the delay at the time we were supposed to departure.

And then, just to really cap it off, instead of actually telling us what the weather conditions were and giving us the opportunity to go on another flight, it's not until after we are sitting in the plane for an hour that they tell us they may be cancelling ALL flights.

Airlines should be punished with steep fines for kidnapping people not just for security reasons but because that way they don't have to deal with the cost of customer service during a unscheduled flying blackout. There is no goddam excuse for these people to use the Patriot Act as an excuse for the almost non-existent customer services they claim is ruining their quarterly earnings.

This really has to end because American Airlines crappy service proves the company has let the terrorists win. In the end, it makes them money. And isn't the bottom line what it's all about?