And out of thin air, a miracle happened.
Another angel story to raise us up from the wearying human experience.
After a day of teaching, I headed to the train station, parked my car, and waited at the platform. The train did not arrive on time. The crowd of commuters grew; in numbers and in impatience as the evening grew darker and colder. It was a Friday evening and I was setting off to San Diego to celebrate my niece's birthday. Sitting on my luggage, I called my brother to let him know of the delay and asked if my absence would matter. He put my niece on the line to ask her myself.
M: "Please come, Auntie JNET."
How can I refuse that adorable munchkin voice?
XYZ: "JNET, we're taking a taxi to Union Station. There's room for you!"
And with that, I joined my train station acquaintances and headed to Union Station. Running towards the platform, I realized my boarding pass had gone missing. My name was on it. You needed ID to validate it. It should be easy to replace.
Nope.
ZYX: "You must pay another full fare. We refund boarding passes after you provide us the lost boarding pass."
JNET: "I've lost the boarding pass. No one else can use it. No one can be me other than myself."
ZYX: "I can't do anything for you. You must purchase a new boarding pass. You will get a refund after you give us your missing boarding pass."
JNET: ?!?!?!?!?!?
What nonsense. I gave up trying to reason with them. My newfound train/taxi friends backtracked with me to search for my boarding pass. It was a business class ticket; not exactly cheap. After a few minutes of walking through the chaos of people trying to get somewhere or having just arrived, I decided to buy another business class round trip ticket.
AMTRAK was making a nice killing on my behalf. I've now spent more than a couple hundred dollars. The initial train I was to board was still stuck somewhere north and I was going to miss dinner and seeing the kids before bedtime catching a late evening train. BUT, I will be able to help set up and celebrate Saturday morning.
People gamble more on a Vegas weekend. Spending time with my family...that was a bet I was willing to put on the table. I purchased a new boarding pass.
I enjoyed the birthday party and was at the train station Sunday after lunchtime to return to Los Angeles.
But what about your miracle, JNET? What about your angel???
The remarkable event happened upon arriving the Glendale train station. I spilled out with a bunch a people. I hadn't yet gotten my senses together when someone called out my name and placed something in my hand before disappearing. That something was my missing boarding pass.
I was able to get my refund.
And that someone who played angel got away before I can thank them.
I share the story to remember on especially tough days that good people and good things make the long distance run of living more bearable. I hope everyone has a rugged angel story to share. I will share more in the future.
JNET
Here's the first one I shared here:
Welcome to jnetsworld. As of today, April 6th, 2018......
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