Want to play a game?

No, I am not quoting War-Games, and I am not quoting myself (circa 1974) either.  I am quoting my daughter Maddie.  Somehow, even in the absence of my influence for most of her life, Maddie is a game-junkie.  Most readers of this blog know that coming from me, that is a compliment.  We actually didn’t have time to play any games (due to movies and swimming and other such general merriment), but I am told that left to her own devices Maddie would play for hours on end.  I am amused and a little bit proud; it’s good for 8-year olds to know what’s important.

In other travel-related news, it turns out that when the airport announcements say not to leave your bags unattended, they aren’t kidding around.  On the way through security at Dulles International Airport (Washington), I had a “Cinnabon” with pecans and caramel frosting.  About ten minutes later, I really wasn’t feeling well, and had to put on a pretty good hustle to make it to the bathroom.  I was ill for longer than I anticipated, and when I came back, they’d confiscated my bags.  I was a little surprised, but not too worried.  Due to Maddie’s schedule (and having nothing to do in Washington when I left her), I was running about 90 minutes early for the flight.

I went to the security check-point, and was told to call an airport lost-and-found number.  Then I was told to call a police number.  (I didn’t have my phone, so these calls were costing me 50 cents apiece, and more importantly I was running out of change).  Finally, I was directed to the Lost-and-Found office at Baggage Claim 1.  There is a small possibility that there are two points on airport property that are farther than gate 70 and Baggage Claim 1, but I wouldn’t bet on it.  When I finally arrived at Baggage Claim 1, the Lost-and-Found office was closed.  I called the number I had originally called (the one that had directed me there) and asked who could open the door; he said nobody could.  I explained that SOMEBODY could open the door because, since the office closed at 5 and my bags had been confiscated at 7, somebody HAD opened the door to put my bags in there.  He gave me another number (out of change now, had to hunt for quite awhile to get some).  This fellow said that there was a chute, and once the bags were put in the chute, they couldn’t be claimed until the office opened…  the NEXT DAY AT 10AM.

The image of trying to identify and claim my bags, and have them sent to me, from back home in California, was a nightmare, so I didn’t board my plane.  I was stuck at Dulles in shorts, sandals, and a T-shirt (with Cinnabon stains), and with 20 hours to kill (the next flight was at 7am the next day, but since I had to be at the Lost-and-Found office at 10am, I couldn’t get on a flight until 5pm the following evening).  Fast-forward about 18 hours (and believe me it seemed like anything but fast forward at the time) and I am back at JetBlue changing my flight, and the ticket-counter woman says “I show you boarded this flight”.  I said I didn’t board the flight.  She says the system shows I checked in and used my ticket.  I said “You do understand that the flight in question went to Oakland, California, and would have arrived there about six hours ago, right?”  She looked a little lost, so I further explained that since I was, in fact, standing in front of her at the JetBlue Dulles ticket-counter, there was pretty good evidence that I had not used my ticket, even if she didn’t choose to believe my claim that I had not used it.  Finally, I got a ticket (after paying the $100 change fee) and came home.  I don’t recall being so happy to return from a trip in a very long time.