58 Dollars Please

May 3, 2001

The bumper sticker declares that S*** Happens.

What do we call it when it doesn't, Cosmic constipation?

Good stuff happens too, does it get a bumper sticker?

Spouse and I had discussed when might be the best time for me to head south to get the diary (previous entry) photographed.

I had thought that I would use up some frequent flyer miles, but found that unless you do the proverbial Saturday night stay-over, you had to use over double the normal amount of miles.

Bad deal...

Dollar signs rising, support flagging.

I decided that I would make my final decision on Wednesday, since that represented the 2 week deadline for purchasing the tickets I wanted.

Back in February, I had been told by a Delta ticket agent, that I might get one of my travel vouchers extended for an additional year, if I wrote to the "customer care" department and asked for an extension.

I had almost forgotten about that $400 voucher, and began to wonder what in the world happened to it.

The voucher showed up on Wednesday, with a letter giving me a "one time" extension of an additional year to use it.

After checking the master "Taxi" schedule, I called the airline, booked the flight and was given 24 hours to show up at the airport and pay for the flight.

Today I drove to the airport, parked in short term parking, walked into the terminal and gave the letter and voucher to the ticket agent.

"That will be 58 additional dollars."

He swiped the card, then handed me my tickets and I was out the door in minutes.

When I presented my parking ticket to exit the lot the lady said, "No charge."

I guess she figured it was a bit much to pay 2 bucks for less than 10 minutes on the lot.

Granted, the geese have dropped a boatload of S*** on my deck over the last couple of weeks. As long as they keep missing me and hitting the deck, I'll be a happy camper.

It can't really be this easy, can it?