The first sign of trouble was the frown on the baggage check clerk's face as I presented my boarding pass, which I had retrieved from the terminals at the entrance of the American Airlines terminal. The clerk, let's call her "Lourdes," sighed. "I'm so sorry, but flight 119 was cancelled. The plane had maintenance issues. We are going to be sending those who were booked on the flight to JFK to pick up a flight there. We will have a van come by to pick you up momentarily, so just sit tight."

Momentarily turned out to be 45 minutes. By the time the first van arrived there were twenty of us waiting for a lift. We sort of negotiated between us that the first 10 people to have arrived there should be on the first van. Since I was acknowledged as the second person there this was good for me, so I handed the driver my two bags: one carry-on, one for checking, and clambered on board.

In a situation where I feel that I have been wronged, usually it's me who is the loudest mouth. It usually works for me, but sometimes, admittedly, I can get myself in trouble instead. However, we had a lawyer, a garment industry CEO and their respective families in the van, and they were on their mobile phones and Blackberries in a full-court press to find out what was going on, and what American Airlines was going to do about it. How could I compete with that, especially with a phone without an unlimited plan? I just sat back and watched a couple of masters in action.

We found out Flight 119 wasn't canceled per se, it was just overbooked. The tale of a 757 that needed maintenance was just that: a fiction. Why was I told that instead of "Oh, the flight was overbooked, and we need volunteers to opt for another less crowded flight"? I probably would have jumped at the chance of a ride to JFK and a chance to see a bit more of New York from a different angle. I probably would have even gone for the hotel room stay, the meal voucher, and the Monday morning flight home, even. But to be told an out-and-out LIE about the reasons why I was being put off the flight was upsetting to say the least.

I'm writing this from the plane. Turned out that Flight 21 was lucky 21...I managed to get through the TSA gauntlet, to the gate and onto the plane in time for flight time.