Al I understand too well your anger. Even I've been responsible for that kind of anger (due to unforeseen problems). Today I tend to be as upfront as possible about things that can unexpectedly occur. I've actually lost a few jobs from that type of honesty, but I think it's saved a lot of bad feelings. Even great contractors run into things that they didn't anticipate. On the other hand, there are plenty of bad contractors who continually fuck things up. I hope your problems lie more with the former than latter.
Glad you had a good time at your 30th reunion though! Didn't get back to Alaska for mine.