Travel Day...
After this blog I’m sure I will have used up my entire year of repentance I just worked off yesterday! I’m off to Boston to skate the Jimmy Fund which is a GREAT cause. Putting that aside....
Leaving early to catch my flight finds me on two very small planes. Now comes an issue that has plagued this country for a long time, and wish the presidential debates would discuss this matter! You know how there is the “equal pay” issue where woman want to be paid the same as a man doing the same exact job. Well, I think that if you pay for a certain “space” then damn it, you get that space, and if you occupy more than the space provided for you, then you need to PAY for it!!! I’m in a small plane, stuck next to a person who is HALF in my seat!!!! I mean come on, this is ridiculous. That would be like renting a storage space of a 10X10, and when you open up the door half the space is loaded up with junk from the next space over, and OH WELL, you still pay the same amount as that guy. GRRRR!!!!! Come onObama and McCain, take on the important issues here!!!!
The second flight left me in the first seat next to a guy about my size and leg room that I don’t need, but happy to use. Now, since this is a fundraiser and they need to attempt to save on money, all the vouchers couldn’t be used since it is a busy weekend to fly, so they had to pay for a flight. That finds me flying to D.C., then to Rhode Island, a cab ride to the train station, and a train to Boston. Adding on all the extras that had to be paid for (train, cab, gas to Rhode Island and back Sunday morning) ended up being probably $150 to $200 shy of a decent flight to Boston that I looked up earlier.
Paul Wylie was the M.C. again, and the show went well. Happy to hang out with old and new friends who skate throughout the weekend and then jetted back home. I have done a lot of fundraising shows, and unfortunately this year’s Boston gig had a rough travel itinerary compared to the rest. Hopefully something can be done for next year. I understand one skater backed out because the flights were inconvenient. The kids who organized the show thought it was lame, yet when I talked to reps from the skater’s side, I have to agree with the skater. When you have to fly way west just to go a short jump to the east with your competition season right here, you have to chose your shows carefully. And a weekend show is one thing, but a weekend show with an inconvenient travel is another. Every fund raising skating show is worth while, and even though all of us would love to skate them all, there is only a certain amount we can do. We’ll see what happens next year.
Be well,
Dan