The Grand & Glorious Sleeping Car
Clare Briggs
Clare Briggs is a famous cartoonist who lived from 1875 to 1930. Poems by Wilbur Nesbitt.
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ICYMI
I got a First Class seat on a plane this way before.
I would have enjoyed it more but I immediately fell asleep.
Edit: Well, I wasn’t trying to get a First Class seat. It’s just that I got my seat bumped an hour earlier and, on the make-up plane, the party of four (!) didn’t show up. So the stewardess asked me if I wanted to take one of those seats. HECK YEAH.Report
I think the idea on this one is that he couldn’t get a berth because the railroad didn’t realize they’d already reserved the last berth for him (a lower but no upper). So when he didn’t show up for the berth he hadn’t known was reserved for him, the porter gave it to him, thinking the guy who wanted it hadn’t shown up.
I had a nice room on Amtrak from Chicago to LA and back. My only complaint was that the bed was so short, and the track was so rough, that I had trouble getting to sleep because the top of my head kept slamming into the wall every couple of seconds. Amazingly, I found that I could actually sleep with my head getting slammed once I gave up on trying somehow to prevent it.Report
The first time I flew first class was after a freak snowstorm in Dallas had screwed up air traffic all over the state. While standing in line getting tickets adjusted, the man in front of me wound up to punch the ticket agent. Since he had darned near got me in the face, I took hold of his fist while his arm was back where he had no leverage. He spun around and glared at me, but then just stomped off. The ticket agent looked at my ticket and typed a bunch, then said, “Well, we’re putting together a flight that gets you to where you’re going, but there are multiple stops and there’s no single coach seat available for all of the legs.” He typed some more, then smiled at me and said, “But you’re a nice guy, and there’s a first class seat all the way through.”Report
+10 🙂Report
From what I understand, the modern systems have made it more difficult for agents to do good deeds like this.
More’s the pity.Report
Presumably more difficult for agents to retaliate against assholes, as well. One of my favorite stories, quite possibly an urban legend, but back when I was a frequent business traveler I believed it (and was unfailingly polite to the front line people)…
The passenger is increasingly belligerent, threatening the agent with all kinds of mayhem or retribution if she doesn’t fix whatever problem the passenger is ranting about. The agent stays cool, calm, soothing. When the irate passenger finally leaves, the next person in line tells the agent what an amazing display of self-control it was. “How do you do it?” is asked. The agent pauses, smiles, and replies, “The gentleman is going to Baltimore. His luggage is going to Boise.”Report
Never, ever, ever, be rude to the agents.Report