Daylight Saving Time

Today's topic is daylight savings time.  I bring this up primarily because of an incident which occurred in March of 2007.

I was working at the ticket counter at the airport for AirTran Airways on the shift that begins at 4 a.m. (For those of you who haven't ever thought about it, there are people who START their work day at 4:00 am.  Who do you think has to check you in for the flight that leaves at 6:00?).  The morning had gone much like any other.  People showing up at the counter half asleep.  Some wearing pajama pants, NOT all of them in their teen years, unfortunately.  Others carrying pillows fresh from their own beds, all containing hair follicles and dried spittle and who knows what else.  Why you would take such a thing on the on the plane with you is beyond me. So you can acquire other peoples' hair follicles and dried spittle? But I digress. I carry a pillow from home on the road with me, but I pack it in my checked baggage.  Some passengers don't quite remember where they're going to.  When I ask, some reply "Minneapolis." Then they give me a puzzled look when I inform them that they are IN Minneapolis.  We see it all, really.

So, I'd checked in the last passengers for the 6:05 flight and the counter was rather quiet.  Up to the counter comes a man and woman who seem surprised that the area is relatively clear of crowds.  

"Good morning", I say as they approach.  The husband says, "We're here for the flight to Atlanta at 6:05".  "Okay, let me see about rebooking you on a later flight", I respond. "A later flight?", says the husband in his best upspeak."  "Yes, that flight left about 7 minutes ago", I tell him. "It's 6:12.  Daylight saving time started today."

He stares at me, then looks quickly at his wife and then back at myself.  "Well, how come the airline didn't call me at the hotel to remind me?", is the question he posed to me.  "Probably because we didn't know your hotel or room number or maybe we just assumed that you had paid attention to the news or weather channels in the past week as they reminded everyone in the country that this was going to happen", was my reply.  I had never thought he would try to blame someone else for his lack of planning.

At this very moment was when his wife looked up at the terminal ceiling for the answer to the question in her OWN head, which was something on the line of, "Is this nice man going to think that we are BOTH idiots?"  She immediately turned her back to him and addressed me over her right shoulder.

"You're going to Ft. Lauderdale, right?" "Yes", she said quietly in a very apologetic tone.  "Okay, let's see what we can do", I said.  I logged in to the information screen and found that the next flight left at 10:15 and it had room on it, as did the connection flight to Lauderdale.  I will admit that I was hoping like anything that they wouldn't be able to get out until the 3 p.m. flight, or the noon flight at the earliest.  So I rebooked them on standby for the next flight, processed their bags and printed their temporary boarding passes.  I did not speak to the husband during the process of the transaction.  He seemed to have realized the utter stupidity of the statements he had made only moments earlier, so he thought that silence was probably his best option.

No doubt in HIS head was milling the thought that he knew that HE WILL NEVER, EVER LIVE THIS DOWN!

As the tardy couple walked away and toward the security checkpoint I had a warm feeling in my heart knowing that for this event to play out in front of me I had awaken at 2:30 a.m.  On this day it was worth it.

So go to school kids.  When it's time to "spring ahead", or "fall back", act like you're in a Nike ad and Just Do It.

I'm just sayin'.