Just a quick tale of semi-woe for today. Actually, this is a good example of the kind of thing that happens to me often.

Flying to Pennsylvania, I first flew out of Burbank and landed in Phoenix. Everything was going as planned. There were no lines in Burbank, I made it through security with no problems, and my flight departed on schedule. In Phoenix, I decided to give my dad a call, who would be picking me up at my final destination in Baltimore.

“How’s the weather there?” he asked.
“Fine. Perfect,” I said. “Everything is on time, and I should be in Baltimore on schedule.”
“That’s good,” my dad said. “So, the only thing that could cause any delays would be a mechanical problem.”
“Yeah,” I said.
“But that never happens,” he said.

I got off the phone. Ten minutes later, an announcement came on over the loudspeaker. My plane, which I was supposed to board in minutes, was delayed. Why? Mechanical problems.