I always thought that 'the dog eat my homework" was a neat excuse; of course my dogs were too well fed to do that. Then there was 'my grandmother's funeral" or "my car broke down".

But imagine this: You are scheduled to fly out of JFK Airport in New York to an very important event (signing a big contract, your mother-in-law's birthday; or making a presentation at a conference). You arrive on time, check in, board the aircraft.

And then there's this extended delay - and, of course, with most airlines you'd never know why.

But to-day you hear the captain say: "Ladies and Gentlemen - my apologies for the delay in take off but, well, there are a couple of hundred turtles on the runway!"  It seems that a bunch of turles were trying to get to a nearby beach to lay their eggs.

Who's going to believe that excuse!