Just another annoying delay.

Moving from one terminal to another. At Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Last Friday night. I'm supposed to take a tram/train. Up on the second level of the airport. I'm barely able to squeeze aboard. With one bag. I feel squashed. Like a sardine. In a can. Standing there. For 10 minutes. When we are told to evacuate the train. At the request of the Chicago fire department. And sure enough, those are real firemen. In heavy black water repellent coats and helmets. Standing erect. Some of 'em carrying wooden poles. With heavy metal hooks on the end. Battering rams. Used to fight one's way into a burning inferno. To rescue people. I'm wondering. Is it a terror alert? Maybe a report of a hidden bomb. But we stay on the platform. If it was a bomb scare, I assume we'd be ushered far away. We are milling about. Speculating weird possibilities. Some of us look worried. Not about a possible explosion. But that we've got a flight to catch out of Chicago. The sooner, the better. Fifteen minutes pass. A half hour. Forty-five minutes. I'm getting antsy. I approach someone that looks official. He might know something. Is it possible to walk to Terminal 3? No. That would be dangerous. Crossing busy highways and maneuvering around tricky underpasses and overpasses. What about a taxi? Yes, that's possible. That'll be my fallback option. Ah, I breathe a sigh. After an hour of waiting, we're able to board again. We are on our way. Turns out, someone sniffed what might be an electrical fire. And the fire department insisted on playing safe. Nothing was amiss. No bomb. No terrorists. Just another annoying delay. In the grand scheme of life. --Jim Broede