14 April 2010

News of the Weird for travelers

There's a lot of really strange news out there these days, and it's not limiting itself to the Editorial page.
Here are three strange but true tales from the recent headlines.



Ghost Car on patrol - Car 1453 of the Westchester County police department looks almost unfinished. It's not unmarked, but it's decals and police markings are white or colorless, just like the 2009 Crown Victoria itself. The markings are almost invisible, especially to a distracted driver - one speeding, driving drunk, or texting / talking on the cell phone, which is illegal in Westchester County. One of the most interesting parts of the article - While the officer was driving, "...suddenly, there was a buzz — (Officer Tierney's) own cellphone. He pulled it out and saw it was his sergeant, so he answered. Police officers, it turns out, are exempt from the cellphone law."




Paying to Pee -

"If you take a Ryanair flight, you'll soon have to pay to pee - and more." Ryanair is a low cost Irish airline that operates mainly out of Dublin and London. In their latest Euro pinching move, they've decided to make the rest rooms on their Boeing 737's accessable only if the passengers are willing to pump some tokens or coins into the door to open it. Expecting most customers will choose to hold it in rather than pay to relieve themselves, they also plan to rip out several of the in-flight toilets to add more passenger seating - which may violate the FAA regulations allowing how many passengers they allow on their aircraft. If you're flying Ryanair, be sure to stop off in the airport faciilities before boarding - and hope they don't make you sit on the runway for long. Those long haul trips could be a bladder killer.



Your seatmate is leaning on you - is he dead or sleeping?

Many frequent travelers have had the unfortunate experience of having the person in the seat beside them fall asleep, turning their seatmates into a pillow. It used to be a good day if there is no drool involved. Maybe that standard is about to change. Two women in Liverpool tried to check in 91-year-old Curt Willi Jarant for a flight to Berlin, insisting the lifeless man was just sleeping. Airport worker Andrew Millea said he knew Jarant was dead upon the group's arrival to the airport, when he helped move the man into a wheelchair. "I did my best to help by carefully lifting the man from his seat," Millea told The Daily Telegraph. "To my horror, his face fell sideways against mine. It was ice-cold ... but they reassured me that he 'always sleeps like that.'" The two women were arrested after Millea alerted authorities... poilice believe Jarant died of natural causes.

I don't know about you, but to me staying at home is starting to sound a whole lot better. Ever had anything truly strange happen while you're on a trip?

4 comments:

Carolan Ivey said...

Well, let's see... there was the time I was flying by myself and my seat neighbor was a teenage kid who A) had obviously never flown before and B) had no clue about what body parts one does and does not touch in public.

Shall I go on? Or is that enough information? LOL

Sela Carsen said...

Stress relief, Carolan? Eeek!

Ember said...

Wow. I thought the "Mile High Club" was a club for partner activities, not soloists. A little drool would seem minor after that.

Carolan Ivey said...

Oh, it gets a whole lot worse, but I'll spare y'all the details. Suffice to say I was leaning waaay away from him. Like, blocking-the-aisle leaning. Hunting-for-another-empty-seat leaning.