keyan_bowes | Corporate policies and the Journey home

I'd booked myself on a Monday evening flight (instead of Sunday) to allow for maximum serendipity and World Fantasy Con goodness. Sunday evening, I was very glad I'd stayed on, it was such an awesome dinner. But by Monday morning, the Con was played out.

No problem, I thought: I'd get a late checkout to 3 p.m. and get some work done. Nope. The hotel, even though it wasn't sold out, has a policy of only allowing one hour after its 11 a.m. checkout. I asked for the manager, who said the same thing. So by noon, I was on my way to the airport.

No problem, I thought: I'd just get an earlier flight. But the woman at the United counter looked dubious; it was going to cost me $75. Really? The flight only cost $112 in the first place. Yes, it was their policy. So I gave up. I couldn't check in my bag, either; I was too early.

I had some lunch, then returned to the United counter. A pleasant gentleman looked at my ticket and said,"Would you like to leave earlier?"

So he rebooked me, and I got home 3 hours early. As we drove in, even before we opened the garage door, we saw three costumed kids at our front door. I felt ridiculously happy about not missing Halloween after all as I handed out candy to neighborhood kids. We had more than usual this year.