cktimes.ca Archives for The Pastoral Lens
The Pastoral Lens
Rattled By Reality
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Back in the late fall I received a phone call at my office from my father-in-law. He had come across some information about a special conference that was to take place the following spring in Asheville, North Carolina. He explained to me what a great opportunity this was and that he was willing to foot the entire cost if I agreed to go. Needless to say, I didn't need to be asked twice. I took care of the early bird registartion and forgot about it until about 2 weeks ago.After some searching on Mapquest, I discovered the grim reality that the drive to this conference was in the 10-12 hour range. Ugh! I'd rather watch paint dry. Besides, my car is quite long in the tooth and gas prices are approaching the ozone layer. I started to wonder what a flight would cost. Here is where the adventure began. I was shocked to find that all the "bargain" agents on the web still couldn't get me a round trip ticket for less than $950 US flying from Detroit. Then I had a shaft of brilliance illuminate my research: priceline.com. Let me tell you first off here that I am a novice at using this particular service. I was completely unaware of the dickering and negotiating that one must do to "name their price" for an airline ticket. As I submitted my bids, I kept getting requests back from them to reconsider various changes to my criteria. Would I consider a different departure and/or arrival date? Would I be willing to take "red eye" flights? Would I settle for a different airport for departure or arrival? Did I mind extra connections at other airports. Would I change my bid to a higher one? Well, it seemed like I was on the computer for a long, long time when suddenly, a different screen appeared. I was now being congratulated for submitting a successful bid! Wait, I lost track of all the concessions I had made to get to this point. What kind of itinerary would I be stuck with, anyway? I stared in horror at the lopsided connections and late arrival time. In fact, I would still have to rent a car at 11:00pm for a 2-hour drive through the Blue Ridge mountains after my final arrival. My heart raced as I phoned the toll-free information hotline. Eventually, I spoke with a young woman who reaffirmed what I didn't want to hear. My bid went through and it was a done deal. A card laid is truly a card played.
A good lesson has been learned in all of this planning. I had decided to dive into an area that I knew very little about. Instead of waiting for a second opinion from someone who had ventured out into these waters before me, I plunged in with both feet. Now I've got an adventure in front of me! Sure, if I was a university student agin I'd be pumped about the road ahead. But hey, I'm 41 and much more conservative about stuff like this now. What was once an invitation to excitement is suddenly a testing of my nerves. So, instead of a "boring" 10-12 hour drive that would land me comfortably in time for the conference, I will instead have a story for my grandchildren. Gee, a little planning ahead can go a long way in saving your nerves. If this is how it feels in this life, what's ahead for those who have not made preparations for eternity? I can handle a 2-hour drive at the end of a long day in airports, but the thought of spending eternity without God, well, that scares me. Are you rattled by the reality of it?
