The Adventure of Life

When I have traveled, I can be a little high strung.

I have been known to get irritable if things don't go like they should, well, let's just say it is not pretty. And what I know is when I travel, something always goes wrong.

It was years ago, traveling into Amarillo to catch a flight to Austin for a conference that I came to a life changing decision. I decided to relax and enjoy the adventure of living and not sweat the small stuff. In fact what I decided was that rather than getting upset, I would try to see the humor and tell the story.

It happened this way.

I was with a friend who offered to drive. He had a root canal the day before and unknown to me, had taken pretty heavy pain medicine when he started the day. We were on I40 when he told me he was a little under the weather and was "on drugs." So getting to the airport was a feat in itself. Then we checked in with our non-refundable tickets. The clerk took my ticket and only after checking my bag told me our flight was being diverted from Austin to San Antonio because of the fog at Austin. I asked her when I would arrive in Austin, and she guessed that it would be late in the afternoon. At that point, I realized the absurdity of this and laughed. I found myself saying, "I am attending a 24 hour conference in Austin. That is why I bought a ticket to Austin. I know no one in San Antonio and have no business in San Antonio. Why would I want to board a flight to a city I have no business in instead of going to the city where I have business?"

She looked wide eyed at me, paused and said, "Well, that makes sense. I guess you wouldn't."

"Exactly! So, if you cannot get me to Austin, I might as well go home. So if you will refund my ticket, my drunk friend and I will return home." Her wide eyes became wider. "I can do that!" She set about to refund my ticket and then looked up and said, "I'm sorry, but you have a non-refundable ticket! I cannot refund your ticket price."

"Even if you cannot get me to my destination in a reasonable amount of time?"

Our discussion was cut short by the later word the fog had cleared and we could now board for Austin.

As we moved to the jet way, I found myself saying, "This is too rich to get upset about. It is something to chuckle about.

I have been chuckling every since. Little did I know that this little silliness was only the beginning of a life of travel and the ensuing glitches that inevitably come.