“Don’t confuse your travel agent with God ”.
That’s what an American author named Kenneth R. Morgan wrote quite some time ago and I paid little heed to Kenneth’s advice that day when I confronted a travel agent in Adelaide with a simple fact……
“ Ya just gotta find me a cheaper flight somehow….I need to be able to pay for transport from the airport to my parents house on arrival ”
And so as it was pre computer days the poor agent earned his money and got on the phone and started the arrangements and after considerable effort and time beamed up at me to say…..
“ I think we can shave about $180 off that flight Sir ”…. this of course brought my instant response of ….
“ I’ll take it !” …. and so that very Saturday morning I hopped a flight from Adelaide to Perth in order to catch my flight to Kuala Lumpur where I couldn’t dawdle as the connecting flight to Thailand was not far off. The Thailand to Bombay stretch was a bit tiring but the next flight to Athens before connecting to Rome seemed oh so quick in comparison.
The plane change in Paris gave me the first welcome opportunity of non aircraft food in some 40 odd hours though frankly it kind of sucked. I did manage to happily indulge myself however by showing the French how rude an American can be by hogging four crowded waiting area seats in a row for some nap time thus forcing some of them to stand. I said it then and I’ll say it now….
“Tough chit Frenchy”
The end of the Paris to London flight brought an almost instant plane change and by this time Boston was a mere seven hours away and I arrived there happily after some fifty five hours of travel time behind me . The cab driver outside of Logan Airport said….
“ Boston to Manchester ….that will be a hundred bucks.”
Fifty miles later I handed over the hundred dollars and a ten dollar tip leaving me with exactly seventy bucks needed to buy the necessary tools to look for a job laying brick……I’d say that travel agent cut it mighty fine.
