The Older Dad Chronicles

I've written before about my father and the things I discover about the aging process as he gets older. There's the shoe lace incident and my brother wrote about the key card incident. Now there's a calendar date incident. My mother has been on vacation in Hawaii this last week, and it's been a real vacation for her because my dad did not go with her. If you ever meet my dad, you will see where his children got their biting humor as they talk about other family members. He's also a very nice man, but being out in public with him has its drawbacks. Every new person he meets is immediately his best friend. This is okay for just walking around, but not so nice on the wallet if that person is a salesman, a contractor, or any tradesman. The salesman and contractor see an easy mark, and the tradesman (plumber, repairman, etc.) gets more money because they charge by the hour and my dad doesn't know how to let them just work on what they have to work on, without engaging them in conversation for prolonged periods of time. He needs a minder, which my mom usually fills that role, which is why she had an enjoyable vacation with her cousins this last week.

So, of course, I need to help my dad with picking up one of the cousins and my mom from the airport. I trusted my dad with the dates, and even checked the status of the flight online just using the flight number. At the airport, the flight arrived early, but after a few minutes, it looked like all the people had already debarked and picked up their luggage, and my mom and her cousin had not yet come to the baggage claim. I called my mom's cell phone but my cousin picked up, saying that they were asleep at the hotel. Huh? Did they miss the flight? Why didn't they call? My cousin said their flight was leaving tonight, not yesterday, and would be arriving Sunday morning. What the...?

After hanging up, I asked my dad for the flight info. In my mother's handwriting, under the date Sept. 9, was the departing time. Below that, in the wee hours of the morning, was the arrival time. My dad had interpreted the date applying to the arrival time. We were 24 hours too early. So how did I miss this when I checked the flight status? The flight is a daily flight, same flight number, with the same departure and arrival times, everyday. I had no idea that I had to confirm the date too. I believe my dad still blames my mom for writing the date "wrong." If you've read about the shoe lace incident, you'll understand that now I have to add a few more questions to "the ritual."