Well, exhausted but whole I made it home from Montana... today, I suppose, since the plane landed about 1 AM. Only about 3 hours late. I suppose there are far worse places to be stuck than the new terminal at Minneapolis/St. Paul. It was actually a fairly comfortable environment and they clearly did some sort of study: there were no TVs blaring CNN loops and even the electric carts had no beepers on them. It made a big difference. One thing I did notice was the unusual frankness of the announcements. A sample:

"Mr. -----, your plane to Amsterdam is leaving without you."
"Flight attendant ----, please come to gate F4 immediately, the plane is waiting for you."
"We need an electric cart from D5 to C4 for a tight connection. This is the third request I've made." (actually, I think it was the fifth)
"There is a problem with the number 2 engine on the plane. They are going to have to replace the ECU -- the Engine Control Unit."

That last one was for our plane. All were in a pleasant Minnesotan tone of voice, of course.

The cab ride home was horrendous. Suffice it to say I am going to try never to ride Yellow again.