Travel Disasters Averted

What are the worst possible things that can happen when flying internationally? How about missing your plane? Or flying for 15 hours with a small crying infant in the seat in front of you? We had brushes with both when leaving Johannesburg for New York city today.

First off, we misread our tickets, having a little trouble converting from military time to "normal time".  We were on our way to the airport to arrive more than the recommended two hours ahead of time, when we realized that the flight left at 9:05 PM instead of 11:05.  However, with some major hustle, and a relatively empty airport, we managed to make our flight with ease in spite of arriving just 45 minutes before departure. Phew!

Once we boarded the plane, we discovered we were seated behind a mom traveling with a 5 month old baby. And the 5 month old's twin - two babies! And these babies were not happy babies.  Mom was traveling by herself, having started from Angola, going through Johannesburg, and then on our 15 hour flight to New York. And - she ran out of diapers half-way through the flight.  Fortunately, other passengers and the flight attendants were there to help her calm her screaming kids. I had my noise canceling headphones on, and I even snuck into Business Class for about three hours to stretch out in one of the comfy seats.  Sue and the kids even slept as well. We all survived.

We ARE seasoned travelers.