May 10: Knoxville, Tenn. (maybe)
It looks as if my airline luck is running low again.

The truth is that I'm not in Knoxville. I'm still in Gainesville. I arrived at the Gainesville airport at 2 p.m. for a 3 p.m. flight to Atlanta, only to find out that the flight is running two hours late. Fortunately (I guess it's fortunate), I had a three-hour layover in Altanta, so I should still make it to Knoxville at about 8 p.m. tonight. We'll see...

Addendum: Well, I did get to Knoxville, but it was at 9:20 p.m. I went to pick up my rental car at the Enterprise booth, but it was closed, locked up tight. So, I called them. "Sorry, sir," said the vivacious voice on the phone. "That location closed at 9 o'clock. We won't be able to rent you a car until they open in the morning."

"You're kidding," said I. "No, sir. I'm sorry. Was your flight delayed?"

You can imagine what I wanted to tell them they could do with their car in the morning.

I'm usually a Hertz guy, and now I remember why. I don't think I'll be doing business with Enterprise ever again. That's what I get for trying to save $25.

Every other rental car counter in the airport was open, but they were all out of cars. I ended up grabbing a cab for . . . $25.

Poetic justice?