Just before we left for home on our airline ordeal, my travelling companions took a first-place national prize at our conference for the written work they had submitted while we were still on the ground in Portland. This changed our attitude about the trip completely, and it put us in a decent frame of mind to cope with the shabby, shabby treatment we were about to receive from Continental Airlines.

The latter experience will soon fade from memory, but that trophy and the sense of achievement it creates will stand for decades. Good for my colleagues.