2001
| Sept. 24, 2001 I am planning to go to Orlando Florida to the Romantic Times Convention in November. And I have a ticket for my son for last year - an eTicket. Continental Airlines. It expired Sept 14th. I called the airline and asked about it. Worth a shot. They said, "It expired Sept. 14th." I said, wryly, "No one was booking flights on the 14th." Not after the towers fell they weren't. She went to talk to her supervisor. She came back - "We'll grant a one-time exception," she said, "For a city charge and a $100 service fee." This ticket had a $75 fee for changes - which they ignored. This same airline had charged me lots of money for the emergency flight change last year when I needed to get home fast. Nice people. Right. I was looking at an additional $100 - since the new ticket was, due to the fiasco in NY, less than the original. I did not hear that part. I heard the total. 262 + 100 = 362. I neglected to subtract the 291 I had already paid. I had tickets on courtesy hold at AAA for $265 each - $275 with fees. I then did something interesting. The reference to Sept. 11th had unnerved me. Totally. That event does come back and hit you when you least expect it. I did a dumb thing - which - if she had been perky - and emphasized "For ONLY $75 more, instead of hammering at the total - --- I hung up the phone! I booked with the auto club. (And am still waiting for confirmation.) I threw away $291! I was upset at myself all day (as soon as I had done it - it had dawned on me. Delayed reaction.) I called my older son and told him what I'd done. I was upset. For awhile. Then I thought about it. I spend this on QVC in a phone call. Especially on Fashion Day! I went shopping last week like they told us to do. My younger son needed new clothes. From Big & Tall. 2XT - because his ankles are hanging out of his sweatpants. And his cotton shirts are rumpled and short sleeved. He needed underwear and new slippers and I added a new bathrobe - one that can actually close over his belly and reach below his knees. Between Big & Tall and the sale at Sears, that took up $300 easy. And that does not count what I spent power shopping for my fall wardrobe. Sale or no sale. And I still need shoes. So it is not worth fretting over. It really is below the radar. My sons reminded of this. Both of them. So I chalked it up to a brainfreeze and moved on. To make myself feel better, I also power-shopped on QVC's fashion day. Any woman knows, when fussing about money, go shopping. Cures everything. |
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