I love your positive outlook in this story - I too feel there is good out there we just need to be sure and look forward it and see it and enjoy it especially when scary or bad things are going on around us.
Rich, Lisa and I passed through the same airport you did a week earlier - Dalles/Fort Worth - and had a very different experience. First of all, we learned, after arriving from Portland, that our connecting flight to Hartford was cancelled due to "weather." This, I later learned is what the airlines always tell their customer, no matter what the actual reason, to avoid having to pay for food and overnight lodging. This results in passengers having no choice but to try to sleep on seating not designed for restful slumber. Lisa was still recovering from a serious hip operation just a few weeks ago, had just come off a 4 hour flight and I was determined she would NOT be sleeping on the floor of Dalles/Fort Worth airport that night. I had a little "talk" with the gate agent who very graciously and discreetly arranged for us to get a comped hotel room and meal vouchers. The next morning we arrived back at the terminal, slightly more rested after a solid 3 hours of sleep and a shower that partially washed away some of the plane smell off our bodies.
There was an 80 year old man traveling with his daughter who had been on the same flight with us who spent the night sleeping on the floor. I asked his daughter why they hadn't insisted on getting the airline to put them up for the night. She replied, "Oh, we just thought we had to do what they told us to do." The broken (and worsening) condition of our air transportation system has turned travelers into submissive victims - broken down to the point that they're resigned to accepting anything they're told. And don't get me started on leg room...
Oy. As I said in the post, "Traveling can be a ball wrecker of plans." My wife and I had an experience very similar to yours about a year ago at the Houston airport. Maybe the lesson is, don't travel through Texas.
I'm reading this at Gate A7 in the Las Vegas airport. Applying it's message with gusto. The slice of humanity on display here is undoubtedly different from the one you had the pleasure to observe!
Love this!! We ARE morons to get sidetracked from the nice things going on in the world. Thanks for the delightful reminder.
I love your positive outlook in this story - I too feel there is good out there we just need to be sure and look forward it and see it and enjoy it especially when scary or bad things are going on around us.
Rich, Lisa and I passed through the same airport you did a week earlier - Dalles/Fort Worth - and had a very different experience. First of all, we learned, after arriving from Portland, that our connecting flight to Hartford was cancelled due to "weather." This, I later learned is what the airlines always tell their customer, no matter what the actual reason, to avoid having to pay for food and overnight lodging. This results in passengers having no choice but to try to sleep on seating not designed for restful slumber. Lisa was still recovering from a serious hip operation just a few weeks ago, had just come off a 4 hour flight and I was determined she would NOT be sleeping on the floor of Dalles/Fort Worth airport that night. I had a little "talk" with the gate agent who very graciously and discreetly arranged for us to get a comped hotel room and meal vouchers. The next morning we arrived back at the terminal, slightly more rested after a solid 3 hours of sleep and a shower that partially washed away some of the plane smell off our bodies.
There was an 80 year old man traveling with his daughter who had been on the same flight with us who spent the night sleeping on the floor. I asked his daughter why they hadn't insisted on getting the airline to put them up for the night. She replied, "Oh, we just thought we had to do what they told us to do." The broken (and worsening) condition of our air transportation system has turned travelers into submissive victims - broken down to the point that they're resigned to accepting anything they're told. And don't get me started on leg room...
Oy. As I said in the post, "Traveling can be a ball wrecker of plans." My wife and I had an experience very similar to yours about a year ago at the Houston airport. Maybe the lesson is, don't travel through Texas.
I'm reading this at Gate A7 in the Las Vegas airport. Applying it's message with gusto. The slice of humanity on display here is undoubtedly different from the one you had the pleasure to observe!
I had a selective experience.