Short Final: Breakfast Break

Early on a quiet morning, as I was taxiing, a rather over‑eager student pilot called ground control. A young voice, with textbook radio language, and a perfectly articulated request to taxi from the flight school ramp. The seasoned controller just could not resist: “Cessna 123 alpha bravo, you will have to hold for about 30 minutes as we need to finish our breakfast.”

There was a long pause, as the student clearly hadn’t been trained for this possibility. The controller made him sweat for a perfect number of seconds before saying: “It's okay Cessna three alpha bravo, you can taxi to Runway 35.” Many chuckles on frequency, as everyone appreciated hearing a little humor from our local tower.

Bill Colton

Houston, TX