Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Ben's Big City Adventure
My brother works for a funeral home in Dothan, AL. He wears many hats with his position, and one of them is transporting bodies to certain destinations. Recently, a Mexican gentleman passed away and needed to be sent home to Mexico. Ben was put in charge of taking him to the Mexican Consulate, then Hartsfield Jackson airport.
Ben's oldest daughter, Baylee, is in sixth grade, and is currently studying the United Nations. Because of this, Ben thought it would be a good idea to take her with him on this little trip for educational purposes. What could possibly go wrong?
After filing the proper paperwork at the Mexican Consulate (and a quick visit to their favorite TGI Friday's), they headed down I-75 to the airport. Anyone who has been to this airport any less than 10 times can easily get a little confused. Ben has been once, and that was about 22 years ago.
I'm not sure how (you would have to ask him), but Ben ended up on the tarmac of the Continental Cargo terminal. Probably not the best place to run out of gas... yup, out of gas.
So let's back up and take a snapshot of what's going on here: Ben, with his 11-year-old daughter, in a hearse, with a body, and no gas, on the tarmac, and it's getting dark outside. There is no way that I could make this up.
It was at this point in his little adventure that the real fun began. Workers scrambling all over the place, and not a single person offered to help. They claimed that they were shorthanded. Baylee's suggestion was to wheel the casket down the tarmac; surely someone would offer to help at that point (I'm with her on this one). An hour and many phone calls later (at one point Ben, myself, and mom were tying up 3 lines with Continental Customer Service) they finally got some help.
I can't wait to hear about the look on Baylee's teacher's face when she asks, "What did you learn yesterday on your field trip?"
Ben's oldest daughter, Baylee, is in sixth grade, and is currently studying the United Nations. Because of this, Ben thought it would be a good idea to take her with him on this little trip for educational purposes. What could possibly go wrong?
After filing the proper paperwork at the Mexican Consulate (and a quick visit to their favorite TGI Friday's), they headed down I-75 to the airport. Anyone who has been to this airport any less than 10 times can easily get a little confused. Ben has been once, and that was about 22 years ago.
I'm not sure how (you would have to ask him), but Ben ended up on the tarmac of the Continental Cargo terminal. Probably not the best place to run out of gas... yup, out of gas.
So let's back up and take a snapshot of what's going on here: Ben, with his 11-year-old daughter, in a hearse, with a body, and no gas, on the tarmac, and it's getting dark outside. There is no way that I could make this up.
It was at this point in his little adventure that the real fun began. Workers scrambling all over the place, and not a single person offered to help. They claimed that they were shorthanded. Baylee's suggestion was to wheel the casket down the tarmac; surely someone would offer to help at that point (I'm with her on this one). An hour and many phone calls later (at one point Ben, myself, and mom were tying up 3 lines with Continental Customer Service) they finally got some help.
I can't wait to hear about the look on Baylee's teacher's face when she asks, "What did you learn yesterday on your field trip?"
