No stitchy pics this week, but a short tale of how, once
again, our bacon was saved by the kindness of strangers.
My parents live in eastern Kentucky, and DH and I usually
fly into Charleston, WV, when we go to visit them. From there it’s about an hour’s drive. It’s drivable from our house, but for short visits it’s much
easier to fly.
DH works for the airlines and we fly on his pass. It’s a great perk, but the caveat is that we
fly stand-by – no seat, no go – so we try to plan our travel carefully. We were planning on the first flight from
Dulles to Charleston this past Saturday, but when I checked the bookings before
we left the house, I discovered that the flight had gone from having available
seats to being overbooked by 5. Not a
good thing, but our motto is “We’ve gotta try it.” So off we headed to the airport.
When we got to the airport, things didn’t look good for
getting on the flight (believe it or not, I’ve gotten on overbooked flights in
the past – it’s all about the no-shows).
While we were waiting, we heard an announcement for a flight to Beckley,
WV – about an hour south of Charleston.
Moments later, our gate agent made an announcement that our flight had a
weight restriction and that they were looking for 6 people to give up their
seats. Well, when they make an
announcement like that, there’s no chance for stand-by. So we looked at each other and just said, “Beckley.”
No problem getting on the Beckley flight but we soon
discovered that getting a rental car in Beckley isn’t quite as easy as getting
one in Charleston. I was on the phone
with Avis and quickly learned that a) they had no cars in Beckley that we could
return to Charleston, and b) their office in Beckley didn’t open until
1pm. Since we were arriving at 10am,
this was a problem.
While I had been on hold with Avis, the lady sitting across
the aisle and one row up had turned around and said, “If you’re going to
Charleston, you could probably ride with us.
My sister is picking me up and that’s where we’re going.” After I learned that about all Avis could do
for me was move our car pick-up time from 10am to 11am, I tapped her on the
shoulder and said, “I think we’ll take you up on your offer.” When we landed in Beckley, she called her sister
and cleared it with her, and told me that we’d be welcome to ride along as long
as we didn’t mind a dirty car and a big dog.
My reply was that we love dogs (we do) and that her sister’s car couldn’t
be much dirtier than mine (it wasn’t).
That’s how we found ourselves tootling along the West
Virginia Turnpike on Saturday morning with Connie and Sharon and Reggie, a
largish white poodle-looking poochie who was happy to share the back seat with
Connie and me. He was a little unsure of
me at first, preferring to huddle close to Connie, but as we got closer to
Charleston he moved a little closer and eventually laid his head on my knee,
then sat up and leaned against my shoulder.
DH and I chatted amiable with the two sisters and Sharon very kindly
took us to Charleston airport so we could pick up the rental car, only an hour
later than originally planned.
Blessings, serendipity, angels – whatever you want to call
it, we were so grateful that these two ladies crossed our path on Saturday
morning. Our impulsive choice to fly to
Beckley turned into the right move, thanks to their kindness and
generosity. We were able to get to my
parents’ home just a little late without having to pay a fortune to a taxi or a
car rental company. My list of
pay-it-forwards just got a little longer.
.jpg)
%20-%20Blog%20Tour%20Poster%202.png)
