Dave's flight gets cancelled

After setting up the booth and meeting the other finalists at lunch, I head back to the hotel.  I prepare to travel to the airport to pick up Dave.  He, Jill and baby Ava are in Capetown. Little business and vacation. He's to catch a flight to Accra Monday night so that he can be here for the event.  

Back at the hotel I receive phone message marked Urgent slipped under my door.  Holy shit! What happened?!  I don't even want to begin thinking of all the possibilities that could occur.  I call his cell and find out that his flight has been cancelled.  He is obviously upset and disappointed.  His first flight from Capetown to J'oburg is running late.  The airlines tell him that he won't make the connection so they cancel his whole flight.  The next available combinations of flights will get him in the same day that he'd have to leave to go back to J'oburg for meetings.  I can't imagine what he is feeling and we have a long conversation about it. Tom's best line is that this is a good, small example of what working in Africa will be like.  If you can't handle this, then think about other career paths.

He attends the conference in spirit.  (He'd probably steal the show from me anyway!)