Last week we flew down to New York City so that my son could visit a few colleges that he has on his list. It was an adventure from beginning to end. We made it down without a hitch including the taxi ride to the hotel. He and I visited a total of three colleges and saw quite a range in the quality of presentations. It made me wonder why if you were in the business of selling the opportunity to attend your institution you would turn that task over to a student with only a passing knowledge of the place and not much more interest. We did see one that was very well done and answered a load of questions. Navigating the subway system was a huge part of the adventure and I found folks to be helpful and friendly if you approached them. But they were always surprised if someone was pleasant to them. I picked up an umbrella that a woman had dropped and carried it to her; she had a stunned look on her face and could not stop saying thank you.
We ate in a couple of great restaurants and were surprised to find the prices to be very much in line with eating out at home. In fact the deli across the street from the hotel where we had breakfast and lunch all three days was a bargain.
Friday it snowed, it was interesting to see the city continue on as if nothing was happening. I found it interesting that the buildings have their maintenance folks use big squeegees to keep their sidewalks clear. Boy are the sidewalks slippery after one of those has gone over it.
Saturday we were scheduled to return home and the airline situation was a mess. I tried to call our airline 25 times and was met with a busy signal only. So we headed to the airport early to avoid the St. Patrick’s Day parade and wait it out. Our flight to Portland was at first delayed and then after an hour or so cancelled. Then the adventure began.
First I have big news for the airlines. It sometimes snows in North America! When it does your logistics will be a mess. We all understand that. But when you see a problem developing perhaps adding a few customer service reps might be in order. The three you normally schedule will not be sufficient when you cancel twenty flights and effect hundreds of passengers. The young lady that helped us after a long wait was clearly overworked and a barely functioning computer system only made it worse.
We were able to switch to a flight to Providence where we rented a car and drove back to Portland. On the way home form Portland we encountered black ice for the last 30 miles or so to round out the adventure. All safe and sound at home now and glad for a few quiet days.
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