on behalf of the entire seagull community

"we apologize for the delay!" said the flight attendant when we finally landed in Honolulu. It was a tiring horrendous day trying to fly out of SFO. As soon as the plane took off, the Hippo, who was sitting next to the right engine, heard a loud noise and instantly thought something must be wrong. Then I noticed the plane circling above SF. Strange! Soon the captain said we're returning to SFO because a bird got sucked in to the right engine. It was a smart move! None of us wanted to fly over the Pacific with a dead bird in the engine. We learned later than an enormous gull got in to the engine and knocked out a third of the fan blade. The plane was appropriately named Nene (Hawaiian goose). Another hour went by before we were told Hawaiian Airlines would fly another 767 from Seattle and the new departure time was now 4PM. We had 6 hours to wait! I thought of going back to my parents to have lunch. But we were offered $10 worth for lunch, and I just didnt fell like Bart'in out to the city and back. So, with the rest of the passengers, I hung out at the airport. When the plane finally arrived at the gate, we applauded. By then we made friends with each other. When we were finally onboard the new plane, the captain said "scene 1 take 2, and no more birds!". We finally landed in HNL around 9PM. Still in the state of confusion, we were told all inter-island flights had already taken off for the day, and so Hawaiian put us all in a cheap hotel, next to the airport, the Honolulu Airport hotel. Instead of spending the day in sunny and warm Waikoloa among friends, and the night in a comfy timeshare, I spent the day in a stuffy airport and the night alone in the worst hotel I've ever been. The cups were made of paper and smelled like coffee, the carpet was damp, and the towels smelled of armpits. I missed a day in the Big Island. But all was not lost. I called and got to chat with June. I actually forgot to bring her phone number but luckily she was listed on the local phone book. It's been many many long years since I heard her voice. She was surprised I was spending the night in Honolulu. And Hawaiian gave us a $200 voucher for the delay. It was a good gesture since the incident was not their fault. And this gave me another excuse to fly to Hawaii again within the year. Not altogether a bad deal!

Hm, I cant see the bird 
 in the engine. Can you?