Typical
Yesterday I flew from Vancouver to Charlotte, North Carolina. I was supposed to have a one-hour stop over in Chicago that turned into three. In the process, upon landing in Charlotte, I discovered that my bag was still back in Chicago. This, of course, posed a serious problem as all my medication is in my bag. So, after waiting for an hour to talk to a representative, they informed me that my bag would come in on the first flight from Chicago in the morning, at roughly 10am. Being that I needed medication, I then had to go to a hospital at 1am and wait for two hours so that I could get three pills (at the cost of almost $300 hundred dollars) to hold me over until the morning. By 3am I finally reached June’s house.
This morning I got up and drove back to Charlotte only to find that my bag still hadn’t come. I was then told that it would arrive tonight and that United would deliver it to Junior’s house. As of 2 in the morning it still hasn’t shown up.
Thankfully Junior’s sister Kelley was able to set me up with her doctor over the phone so that I could get my prescriptions filled. That said, I’m getting a little tired of wearing the same clothes.
For those of you out there that take delight in such thing befalling me, laugh away.
Spinning Stories And Attempts To Lessen The Burden Of Guilt
*See the entry following this.
He Did, He Didn’t
While it was reported today that The Pentagon has officially ‘debunked’ the link promoted by the Bush administration between the regime of Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, it seems the Vice President is still having a hard time letting it go.
June lent me The Road To Guantanamo, so I’m going to watch it and then pass out.
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April 6th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
Oooooo good gawd….you have some serious rotten luck. I bet youll never fly without your meds in your carry on again hey? I think the airline should pay you for your Dr visits and such.
April 6th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Yikes Matt, that’s rough.
Unfortunately, you’re correct, the news media was all abuzz today about any possible mistreatment of the marines without the slightest mention of Abu Ghraib, or Guantanamo.
You’d think since they’re finally getting around to reporting the facts they should have in the lead up to the Iraq war, that they’d have some sort of holiday weekend sale. Alas, wishful thinking.
April 6th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
Heh, oddly enough, I flew from Vancouver to North Carolina once and my bag was also delayed by a day. I’ve since had the same happen at least three times on trips to Europe. I can sympathize, arriving at a destination after a long flight and having no change of clothes sucks.
As for putting meds in carry on, especially after the liquids scare at Heathrow, airport security can be funny about what you pack in your carry on. I haven’t been through an American airport since before 9/11, but it seems these days like the way to avoid complications is to carry on as little as possible.
April 6th, 2007 at 11:57 pm
I could’ve brought your stuff by donkey faster. Geez, you can’t catch a frickin’ break, can you? Hope the rest of your trip is a little smoother (including the go carting). Take care. :)
April 7th, 2007 at 12:18 am
- thats sucks about the meds, thats why i carrying mine in my personal carry-on.
- Yes the way the british were treated is much different than things like Abu Ghraib. However, these detainees were part of a huge international incident that was being covering by media fevereshly worldwide. If these same soldiers were captured in the midst of war & the British didnt know Iran had them, they would have been treated much worse & probably tortured.
Things that happened at Abu Ghraib are disgusting. But unfortunately these things have been happening forever by many nations. With the 24h news etc. this stuff now gets exposed. Something like Abu Ghraib certainly happened during WWII by the Allies, it just was never reported. I guess Vietnam brought out the hell of war into living rooms for the first time, so we know more now of whats happening.
April 7th, 2007 at 12:26 am
United is awful. Enjoy the rest of your trip though!
April 7th, 2007 at 12:28 am
Sorry to hear about the airport hassle, next time use Air Canada I’ve always had good service from them.
I hope the rest of your vacation goes smoothly.
As for this whole hostage business, I’m glad to read one reasoned article about the situation. The news last night had the word ‘TORTURED’? plastered all over it, I saw the interview with Lt. Felix Carmen and the interviewer seemed monomaniacally committed to getting a story of murder, rape and mutilation out of him. I guess that is just the reporter instinct, but it is utterly galling after images from Abu Gharaib and Guantanamo bay (correct my spelling for me please I’m in a hurry)
when asked if he thought whether or not the treatment amounted to torture, Lt Carmen replied that ‘physically no, but emotionally and psychologically yes it was torture’
What they experienced was undoubtedly unpleasant but for Britain to attempt claiming some form of moral high ground on this issue is hypocritical.
By the way Matt, know where you are on the meds issue, I forgot to take mine a couple of days back and I was going up the walls.
Take care man.
April 7th, 2007 at 1:17 am
Are you seriously saying that what’s been happening at Guantanamo hasn’t been news for years now? Not only that, but are you sugesting that such behaviour is permissible as long as the public isn’t unaware of it?
April 7th, 2007 at 1:50 am
Regarding the meds. That would be a panic. Crap luck for sure. $300 for three pills? Thank you Canada.
Slightly different topic.
The fact that Dick Chaney has even been mentioned in the same breath as the words next president is quite astounding. Are these guys sniffin’ glue?
April 7th, 2007 at 1:56 am
Just shows you how many time Cheney’s name has actually been typed in this keyboard. I can’t even spell it correctly.
April 7th, 2007 at 3:20 am
That’s look at it from this perspective if the UK had captured 15 Iranians under the same circumstances do you think they would of been released by now? Not a fucking chance! I knew a statement like the one that has appeared would be given by the Royal Navy crew, and it’s absolute crap. Did they look like they had been tortured? Do you give presents to someone that’s has been tortured? Did they have any limbs missing? I’m from the UK and I feel embarrassed that my government continues to act in this manner.
April 7th, 2007 at 3:38 am
I wonder what passes through Junior’s head before each race when it’s time for the Rah-Rah-America festivities, given one Matthew Good is his close ally…
April 7th, 2007 at 4:18 am
United Air isn’t exactly the best airline out there. I’ve been on a lot of plane rides and I’d have to say that UA has had the most turbulent of all the rides. Don’t forget about the unmaintained interior, I can’t imagine what condition their engines are in. That and my luggage got picked at LAX.
April 7th, 2007 at 4:24 am
Demand payment of the medications from them, it is their fault they didn’t keep your baggage on the right flight. So much for guarantees that your luggage will be transferred for you.
April 7th, 2007 at 4:55 am
You must be tired, there’s actually mistakes in your post (anyway instead of anyone in paragraph 9, $300 hundred, pilled for piled).
The hyprocrisy in reporting on the speculative mistreatment of the sailors before any interviews was galling enough. Then, the hyperbole dramatizing any statements made by the sailors.
I would think any prisoner would be psychologically affected when they think their life is at stake and they are unsure of what they will endure, regardless of how well they are handled at the time of capture. Hardly proof of mistreatment.
If the spin doctors had any respect at all for the intelligence of the population, they would avoid any statements regarding the treatment of the sailors and shift the focus elsewhere. The fact that they repeatedly rely on the ignorance of the people is insulting.
April 7th, 2007 at 5:32 am
Oh, but ever so frequently, the people are actually ignorant.
April 7th, 2007 at 5:33 am
That blows Matt. Hopefully you can shake it off & try to have a relaxing time with Jr. Kick ass go-karting!!
April 7th, 2007 at 6:16 am
In the spirit of being in America, you should do what any rational American would about your luggage confusion: Sue those bastards until the cows come home!
Just be glad you didn’t have an episode on the plane without your meds. Knowing how good American security is, they probably would’ve shot you and realized later that you had a medical condition and needed your meds.
Seriously though, I hope everything works out in the end. It’s nice to hear stories about Dale Jr. being so nice and it sounds like he’s an amazing friend. When I pay attention to Nascar, he’s my favourite driver and it’s always nice to know that celebrities you admire are actually fantastic people outside of the spotlight.
April 7th, 2007 at 7:23 am
Charlotte-Douglas has a history of doing that to me as well. Twice when I’ve flown back they’ve misplaced my luggage. It’s a young airport in construction still. I’m not happy about you losing your bag, but I’m glad to see you visit Charlotte, it’s a nice city when you get used to it.
I hope someday you’ll plan on a show at Cricket Arena or Verizon Ampitheatre.
April 7th, 2007 at 7:36 am
I’m sorry to hear about your crappy luggage situation. I was just watching the news yesterday and there was an article done on the worst airlines for lost luggage and British Airways was the worst. Apparently they lose luggage for every 1000 passengers. Considering the number of people that fly on their planes everyday and the number of people that those planes can hold, that is a very unacceptable and sad state of affairs!
I hope you get your stuff soon and have fun at the races.
I’m sure you will end up having some very interesting talks around the campfire if given an American NASCAR group of people to shoot the shit with.
April 7th, 2007 at 7:36 am
I watched the road to Guantanamo a while ago on the net, and it’s pretty decent. The trails these people went through are quite harrowing, so hopefully you can sleep after!
April 7th, 2007 at 7:58 am
What’s the point in comparing the two situations?
What I take away from these “news stories” is that it is questionable you’ll ever know all the facts and what is motivating the human behaviour in war operations by reading the newspapers.
Who am I to judge which scenario is more frightening to the prisoners?
April 7th, 2007 at 8:07 am
Ironic, since a few days ago I was reading an article about airlines making big profits all at the time, making records losses in customer bags and such…
April 7th, 2007 at 8:20 am
Everytime I’ve bounced through Chicago, they’ve lost my luggage. Sounds like a crappy start to a vacation — hope it gets alot better for you.
April 7th, 2007 at 8:59 am
Bitch bitch bitch at UA to try and get some form of reimbursement. That’s so pathetic. I can understand not wanting your meds scrutinized by some random airport security dweeb - if that’s why you didn’t have them in your carry-on.
Things will get better. Curtail any Walpole’ing habits, sally forth and infiltrate some place of purveyance and negotiate a vending of some cheesy comestibles!
(Monty Python made me write that last bit there. No really. And then my head got nailed to a table! Great guys, Doug and Dinsy! Ni!)
April 7th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Bad dress rehearsal means good show…ie, losing your luggage means great vacation?
April 7th, 2007 at 9:57 am
The Road to Guantanamo was a great film! I watched it just before heading over to Afghanistan…though I did think there was something a little hokey about their reason for being in Afghanistan…
Hope the rest of your vacation is cool!
April 7th, 2007 at 10:01 am
You know you’re in the US when you experience luggage problems.
I had a similar episode when I flew back to Nashville from Tampa. I’d received a bottle of Absolut for christmas and was wondered if it broke or was in fact stolen.
After being back in Nashville for 2 days, I get a call from the airline saying the “delivery man” was coming by with my back that morning. I was at work, so I had them leave it at the office of my building manager. I got home to find they left the wrong back, the address tag reading the name/addy of some woman halfway across town.
Just as I was about to call them about the error, the guy happens to call me and was quite apologetic, so he came by with my bag.
Needless to say, that was the best drink I had in a while.
April 7th, 2007 at 10:02 am
sorry for the typos…I should’ve checked it before hitting publish.
April 7th, 2007 at 10:05 am
That blows about the luggage. Glad your were able to get hooked up with new meds.
Look at the bright side. You get to watch Olbermann every night.
April 7th, 2007 at 10:05 am
My bags were lost by Delta airlines once, coming from Boston through Salt Lake. Another time, when I was moving back home, one of my duffel bags got stuck in the conveyor at YVR - which still took about 4 hours to get it “free”.
Apparently since it was lighter it was sitting at the bottom of a “hill” along the system, just rolling around instead of heading up. The inner workings of the airport baggage system will continue to puzzle me. I carry everything on, whenever I can.
Hopefully your trip only gets better from here :-)
April 7th, 2007 at 10:14 am
For my 1993 Christmas vacation my luggage got to the destination but I didn’t. I had to go back home and wait for the next flight to Saudi (which was 3 days later) I remember having to wear my summer clothes since I had packed all my winter stuff.
As for the sailors, was anyone really shocked by their testimony??? I mean if the democratic world tortures their prisoners I would think Iran would do much worse. I was surprised that it wasn’t worse. I am being completely serious here. Now I wonder if Iran would ever give up prisoner’s as easily next time.
April 7th, 2007 at 10:20 am
dude…always carry meds in your carry on.
April 7th, 2007 at 10:35 am
United should compensate you for the cost of the meds you had to buy.
April 7th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Gotta agree with mona - you must carry some of your meds in your carry on Matt.
Bet you will from now.
April 7th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Lost (or missed connection) baggage is an unfortunate fact of air travel, given the volume of passengers, weather, connection issues, and you went thru ORD? Only the busiest hub in the country! Airlines expect lost baggage, probably to the tune of 2 bags per 1000. I am sure every mode of transport has its issues, cruise ships handle tons of bags, I am sure there are complaints there too, bags missing or damaged. Or picked thru.
And as stated above, one major AIRLINE is in no way more turbulent in flight than another. A low wing 15 seat turbo prop may be bouncier than a 37 seat high wing prop-type, but a 767 is a 767, no matter the company. Watch the jetstream, weather, thermals, altitude, they all play a part.
Baggage lost is terrible, and I don’t know anyone who has escaped it. I do know many a vacation has been ruined. Now you talk medication? That’s a lot scarier than losing shirts and pants.
Hope the return is better, airlines do have good points to them, too.
Cheers.
April 7th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Sorry to hear that Matt. Hopefully you will get your belongings back soon. Enjoy the trip!
April 7th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Yeah, that’s you and me both learning the hard way to put important stuff in the carry on… Over my spring break to Mexico I made the mistake of putting pretty much everything in my checked luggage since the new rules are somewhat obnoxious. After bad weather, delayed flights, lost luggage and being pretty much molested by Dallas Ft. Worth airport security, I made it home two days later. I do find it funny though how strict they are about having liquids in containers over 100mL in your carry-on. Yet I managed to carry a half litre bottle of water from Mexico through five different airports all the way home to Calgary. No one said a word…
April 7th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
*sigh* You just never know what the freaking rules are any more when you go to the airport these days. If I travel, I usually try to pack a few essentials in my carry-on (including clean underwear!). But you would think that with 3 hrs they’d be able to transfer your luggage on to the next flight with no problems. :-p Thankfully my next trip is with a European carrier…
And this whole thing with Guantanamo.. Shut that place down already. The US can’t seem to treat anyone humanely any more. Not even their own people when they return either.
April 7th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Make sure you try and seek reimbursement atleast for your hospital visit when you return lol……I thought I was the only one with luck like that…….My gawd, no meds, I’d be in a panic….:)
April 7th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Hi Matthew!
I am sorry to hear about your baggage experience! I am flying United into Charlotte tomorrow, so now I am a little worried. You have helped me though, I will put everything crucial into my carry on. Enjoy your weekend!
April 8th, 2007 at 5:19 am
That’s the sort of story that make me appreciate those who hate to travel. I’d have a hard time not going into a murderous rage after going back in the morning to learn the bag still hadn’t come in.
These days, you’re very lucky if everything goes according to plan when flying anywhere.
April 8th, 2007 at 6:35 am
sorry about that matt….hope you enjoy charlotte its my hometown! and although you’re bigger in canada your biggest fan is right here in the states :)
oh dear god don’t randomly go decide to go play a club show without telling me…otherwise i might end up at that hospital too
April 8th, 2007 at 10:16 am
O’Hare is crazy!
April 8th, 2007 at 11:58 am
Sorry to hear about the trouble, Matt.
I hope you enjoy the Road to Guantanamo, though. I found it very powerful.
April 8th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
Matt good said: “Are you seriously saying that what’s been happening at Guantanamo hasn’t been news for years now? Not only that, but are you sugesting that such behaviour is permissible as long as the public isn’t unaware of it?”
No i’m not, though maybe it appeared that way given how i said it. My point is that the inhumane acts of war we see more often exposed now such as torture has been around forever. People have this view of WWII as this great war of good vs evil, but i’m sure the Allies made Nazi’s & Japanese form naked human pyramids & had dogs bark at them tec. while trying to extract info.
I’m just saying that fortunately these things are being exposed now & people are being held accountable, whereas in the past these crimes were never reported. I’m sure if we knew half of the atrocities the Allies committed during WWI & WWII we’d be wiping the vomit stains off our keyboards.
April 8th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Sorry to hear about your meds but hopefully you got everything back in one piece. Welcome to Mooresville aka The Dirty Mo.. Hopefully Jr will show you a good time here. Hopefully see around in mooresville.. My friend Kerrie was excited to hear you are here, she one of your biggest fan. Too bad she can’t see ya while you are here. If you do decide to put on a show please let us know. You take care and try not to get into to much trouble with Jr lol. See ya around.. Steph
April 9th, 2007 at 5:58 am
That really stinks when you pay them to take you somewhere…then they loose your luggage, your meds and your life for the next 24-72 hours when they finally decide that you may need something in that bag and it’s a good time to return it!!!
I agree with commenters above that you should file a claim and submit your Hospital bill and perscription bills to the airline for compensation.
Hope you get to enjoy the rest of your trip… maybe you should just have Jr. fly you back home to avoid this situation again!!!
April 9th, 2007 at 10:15 am
Hi Matt. My wife and I had a very similar experience last week flying with US Airways, as follows:
We held 2 first class tickets for a direct flight from Charlotte, NC to Toronto, ON for Tuesday April 3, 2007, departing Charlotte at 2:05 pm, arriving in Toronto at 4:05 pm. This flight was delayed several times and ultimately cancelled.
US Airways proceeded to then re-booked us on a stop-over flight (Charlotte to Philadelphia to Toronto). The tickets for these flights were coach, not first class. We are currently trying to obtain a refund for the difference, although I’m not holding my breath.
In addition to the delayed and then cancelled original flight, we were also late arriving in Philadelphia and nearly missed our connecting flight to Toronto, we then boarded the connecting flight and taxied to the run-way only to be advised that the flight crew’s time had expired and had to taxi back to the airport. Then we were told we would have to make accommodations for the night in Philadelphia, only to be told another crew was arriving to get us to Toronto. Once we finally arrived in Toronto at 1:30 am (9.5 hours later than originally scheduled) we were informed that our luggage had not arrived with us. By the time we stood in line to deal with the lost luggage, it was 2:30 am before we were finally out of the airport in Toronto.
Our luggage did arrive the following evening, thankfully.
Long story short, you’re not alone in the frustrations of air travel.