A nightmare trip, but Carol Stream mom gets to see daughter graduate
Recently when I wrote about flight attendant Steven Slater going rogue and exiting a JetBlue flight via the emergency chute after a dispute with a passenger, I asked readers to share air travel horror stories.
Rose Miksan of Carol Stream obliged with a saga about flying to her daughter's graduation from medical school in New York City on May 26. Rose's family, including her 82-year-old mother, arrived at O'Hare at 3:30 p.m. only to learn their flight was canceled.
"Now the nightmare begins," Miksan wrote. "The agent tells me he'll put us on a 5:30 p.m. flight, and if we don't get on that, then a 7 p.m. flight. I ask some questions and realize that he wants to put six of us on standby, and both of these flights are already full; and we probably won't get out until tomorrow."
But because Rose's husband is parking, the agent can't do anything until the entire party is assembled so she has to stand in line again.
"I get up there and talk to this same gentleman about our canceled flight. He gives the same option. Now I begin to cry and explain that I realize he doesn't care, but our daughter is graduating from medical school and we all need to be there for her.
"Suddenly, he has another option, which is to take a flight to Newark, N.J., at 6 p.m. and drive to New York City with secured reservations."
The Miksans accept, although it means paying $255 more for their rental car. The 6 p.m. flight is delayed three hours and they reach their hotel rooms at 1:30 a.m.
"It ended fine the next day as we saw our daughter become Dr. Jennifer Miksan-DeFazio, but I will never forget the thought that I might have missed this," Rose concluded.
• Also, a 6-foot, 2-inch-tall reader took issue with my complaints about getting my knees bruised by passengers tilting seats back.
He wrote, "I can't make it through a long flight in economy class without tilting my seat back because my knees otherwise hit the seat in front of me the entire time, whether the person in front of me tilted their seat back or not. I figure the intent is that, between meals, everybody tilts their seats back. Obviously, if someone insists on sitting upright the entire flight, they are going to get squeezed, but that's pretty much their choice.
"The solution, of course, would be for airlines to accommodate taller passengers better. I think a little more personal space would probably help ease tensions as well."
Bench benchedPace rider Jerry Smith, 59, says he has a simple request - a bench at a stop by the Rolling Meadows Walmart along Golf Road. Smith, who has health and disability problems, said it's tough standing with grocery bags waiting for the Route 208 bus. "I'm not asking for a split-level shelter with its own Starbucks," he said. "I'm asking for a bench."Pace spokesman Patrick Wilmot explains that the agency doesn't install benches, it installs and operates bus shelters. "Benches offer no shelter to passengers from inclement weather," he said. "Even if we did install a bench, we still have to install an expensive concrete pad to ensure ADA compliance.Before erecting a shelter, which costs up to $15,000, Pace considers ridership, if other shelters are close, the lay of the land and who owns the property. In the case of the Walmart stop, ridership is minimal, there are other shelters nearby and the location is problematic because of its slope, size and multiple utility poles. "We're sorry a shelter isn't feasible at this location and recommend he consider using one of the other shelters nearby," Wilmot wrote.Flotsam and jetsambull; A Pace hearing on service reductions to Routes 209, 240 and 241 will be conducted at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Park Ridge Public Library, 20 S. Prospect.bull; IDOT holds a hearing at 4 p.m. Sept. 15 at 222 Church St., Woodstock, on needs for Route 47 between Route 14 and Charles Road.bull; Chicagoland Car-Free day is Sept. 22. Ditch that gas guzzler and try getting to work via transit. I plan to.