Text 2307, 137 rader
Skriven 2006-06-19 09:32:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: abrupt end to vac 841
=============================
[this is old news, so don't be overly concerned, as we've
survived the event pretty well; it does represent the end
of our vacation (in many ways) and the end of the narrative
about it]

At 5 am I got up with another attack of the runs. On the
way back to the bedroom, still woozy and not having my
land legs fully back (and to both of the FAQs: Carol wasn't
tired of me and so didn't push me, and, yes, I was sober), I
fell head-first down a flight of 13 luckily for me carpeted
steps. I managed to twist to avoid the worst of the head
impact but skinned my right side, have a sizable hematoma
near my right temple, and have various other bruises, aches
and pains, and lacerations. Turned my right ankle, too, but
the rib pain (oh, yeah, cracked a couple) kept my attention
going for a day or so so I hardly noticed that for a while.

Carol got me into the car and to the hospital in jig time.
She was scareder than I was.

If there's a good time to visit the ER, it's on a weekday at
5 in the morning. The staff are cordial, not overworked, and
reasonably efficient. A brain scan showed nothing, which is
no surprise to those who know me, and I was sent back with
a flannel-covered ice pack and the admonitions not to take
my 10:15 flight and to take lots of Tylenol. If I'd told
them how much I really hurt, they'd have told me to take
codeine.

Two days of pain killers, bed rest, spider solitaire, and
fluids (nonalcoholic) got me ready to travel again.

0608 US4008 BWI LGA 1015 1116 CRJ 2A
0608   2126 LGA BOS 1200 1301 319 5F
was
0606 US4008 BWI LGA 1015 1116 CRJ 2A
0606   2126 LGA BOS 1200 1301 319 2A

Owing to the draconian change fees on US Air, my return
ticket had lost all its value, leaving me no choice but to
buy a one-way - Carol leaned on me to go Airtran, but
there's no way I'll do that (so much evil in this world
emanates from Atlanta). This cost about as much as the
emergency room visit but was not covered by insurance.

Speaking of which, you can get trip cancellation insurance
now on the US Air website, which (I haven't read the fine
print) apparently gives you some of the flexibility of a
changeable ticket for about 5 or 10 percent extra over a
nonchangeable one.

Of course, the one time I really wanted that upgrade it
didn't come through. This is the first time in the last
36 trips that I applied for a US Air preferred upgrade
and didn't get it. This time and 35 times ago the same
scenario, they sort of lost my reservation, and when they
tried to fix it, things only got worse.

I'd had 2A throughout the itinerary, but of course I had
to get a last-minute ticket, and the automatic upgrade
system doesn't work for tickets purchased within 48 hr of
departure. Despite my having called 51 hr before, I'd
forgotten my credit card number and had not called back
with it to finalize until within 48 hr, and though the
girl at the preferred desk said she'd put me on the list,
she'd apparently messed things up royally.

Tried online check-in the night before, which had given me
11C, a seat it often gives me, despite my profile saying I
like window seats toward the front and being chairman's.
I called the desk, which said that the computer had locked
the seat map and to just show up early and recheck in at the
machine in person. Which I did, and the machine very kindly
gave me 4F and a standby for first - but didn't print my
connecting boarding pass (the one to LGA was fine). Susan at
the club poked around a bit and said that my seat had been
unassigned, which looked good for first (one unsold) but
that she too couldn't print me a boarding pass.

The commuter flight was 30 min in a cramped but clean CRJ.
I've never stayed awake for this flight before and noted
this time that one can read the US Airways magazine and do
both crosswords and the word puzzle in the time of this
flight (I don't do sudoku, as it's even more mindless).
And that there was no service except for trash pickup just
before landing. At which I presented myself at the gate
with my sad story. The agent couldn't find me on the list
at all, but when he put me in, the computer wouldn't take
the change, saying "already on priority waitlist." This
happened a half dozen times (he let me watch, as he was
getting more bemused by the second); eventually after a bit
of wrestling, he got me on the manifest and said that the
computer had given me 14D. I complained that I'd been
issued 4F in the first place (but it had been reassigned in
the interim); the agent next to him said that he'd never
seen a preassigned Shuttle seat from a remote check-in,
which is kind of bogus, as I've done this exact itinerary
three times this year, and the other two times my seat
assignments were fine (when the lost passenger problem had
bitten me last, it was Boston-Philly). Finally the guy
opened up 5F, which had been assigned to someone else, and
gave the holder my row 14 seat. No upgrade, even at the
last minute, and other preferreds were coming up and
complaining that the system hadn't worked for them either.

Actually the front of coach is almost as good as first,
given that they don't have the Ruger cookies any more in
the snack basket and I wasn't going to drink much.

Service aboard was minimal but smiling: I had ginger ale
(for the throbbing head) and honey roasted peanuts (my
only sustenance of the day).

Toward the end of the flight, as the captain announced
that there was flow control into Boston, I decided to tap
a bit on the computer. Popped the tray table and saw a
partially peeled away bit of flog for the WSJ - topped with
a small graffito that said "I did not pay 50c a mile to read
advertising." I thought on this, and I may never have opened
a seatback tray-table on US Air before; certainly not since
making my current status in '03 or '04. Of course, as soon
as the laptop was fired up, flow control was cancelled. So
put the box back and snoozed until landing. Wondered if my
tuxedo (needed that night) made it back with me and if not
if anyone in Tempe would understand an expensed tux rental.

The landing hurt my head a little; otherwise everything was
fine.

The baggage-claim monitor read (for many flights) Belt B,
which has been inop for weeks. The bags came out on Belt A.

Only about ten people had checked bags. Of course, one bag
had gone missing - not mine, and it turns out it had merely
been loaded onto the previous flight.
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