Travel IS for the feint of heart! [sic]

I was on a recent work trip to Dallas (yes, Dallas in August; Minneapolis in February--it's the way work saves employee travel dollars for the taxpayers-- you're welcome.)  One can only fly one airline:  Air Alaska, and in only one direction from the Walla Walla:  Seattle.  For the 11 am departure, you can get to the WW airport at 9:00 but the ticket counter and TSA don't show up until 10am--no snack bar; no coffee. Not since viewing my last Indiana Jones reruns have I seen an airplane with a propeller! (Mt. Rainier in the background.) The trip was uneventful. The conference was illuminating.  The food choices were legion.  (I taught myself how to download an UBER EATS app and had Kenya food delivered to my hotel room !)  Sometimes technology works for me. 

On the return trip, I snapped a pic at the airport of what must have been employee appreciation day--a lunchtime BBQ was going on for all the outdoor airport crew.  How cute was that? And then sitting in Seattle airport (for a 3 hour layover to take the 10pm flight back to WW,) my work friend and I get texted by Alaskan Air that our flight is delayed 30 minutes.  We go to dinner and get another text that our flight is delayed 2 hours. And then my colleague gets texted by a friend at home in Walla Walla who asks if we're okay because of the hijacking in Seattle and all that she saw on Facebook.  We look up at the TV news flashing silently in the restaurant and see that an Air Alaskan Horizon jet (empty) plane had been stolen for a joy ride by a TSA worker. We both surmised that it was OUR PLANE TO WW.  (Not sure, but we're sticking to the story.)  And sure enough, next, we get a text from Alaskan Air that our flight has been cancelled.  We finish dinner and go stand in line for 45 minutes to reroute ourselves and get 2 hotel rooms so we can sleep for 5 hours. The next several flights to WW were already booked (until 10 pm THE NEXT DAY) so we routed ourselves to Pasco airport (an hour drive from Walla Walla) and Judd picks us up at 7am the next morning so we can recover some of our non-working weekend.  Quite a feint maneuver!!

If you haven't heard it, you can listen to the hijacker talking with air traffic control. Guess the TSA -employee appreciation in Seattle isn't as robust as in Dallas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeYVtVg6aGs

feint / faint | Common Errors in English Usage and More | Washington ...

https://brians.wsu.edu/2016/05/22/feint-faint/

feint : A feint—whether in chess, boxing, fencing, or on the battlefield—is a maneuver designed to divert the opponent's attention from the real center of attack. A feint is a daring move. Do not use this very specialized word in the expression “faint of heart” (or “faint at heart”), which implies timidity.May 22, 2016

and this:

Paul Larkin, studied at University of London

Answered Jun 19, 2017 · Author has 2.9k answers and 1m answer views

Hi,

Fascinating question. This saying originated from a Middle English saying, round about 1545 A.D. A coward verely neuer obteyned the loue of a faire lady. [1545 R. Taverner tr. Erasmus' Adages (ed. 2) 10]

In 1614 A.D., this was refined to become: Faint heart neuer wonne faire Lady. [1614 W. Camden Remains concerning Britain (ed. 2) 306]

And later in 1754A.D., it was phrased in today's recognizable English: Then, madam, we will not take your denial. ‥Have I not heard it said, that faint heart never won fair lady. [1754 Richardson Grandison I. xvi.]