Tales from a Travel Agent

I got this in an email today and if even half of it is true OMG.

I used to live in Ontario just across the border from Massena New York and in the Swamp heat of August I'm talking 100 in the shade Americans used to show up with skis strapped to their cars wanting to know where the nearest ski hill was. We explained the nearest snow would be North of Hudson Bay as it was August. They just looked and said how far about 1ooo miles North we said trying not to laugh.

Here's the email

Oh so sad....they run our country...
> >
> > I have been a Travel Agent for thirty Years. This is why we're in trouble!
> >
> > I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so that her hair
> > wouldn't get messed up by being near the window.
> >
> > I got a call from a candidate's staffer, who wanted to go to Capetown. I
> > started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, then
> > she interrupted me with, "I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but
> > Capetown is in Massachusetts. Without trying to make her look like the stupid one,
> > I calmly explained, "Cape Cod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa."
> > Her response ...(click).
> >
> > A senior Vermont Congressman called, furious about a Florida package we did.
> > I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was
> > expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that is not possible,since Orlando
> > is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me. I looked on the
> > map, and Florida is a very thin state!"
> >
> > I got a call from a lawmaker's wife who asked, "Is it possible to see
> > England from Canada?" I said, "No." She said, "But they look so close on the map."
> >
> > An aide for a Bush cabinet member once called and asked if he could rent a
> > car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had only a
> > 1-hour layover in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said,
> > "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between the
> > gates to save time."
> >
> > An Illinois Congresswoman called last week. She needed to know how it was
> > possible that her flight from Detroit left at
> > 8:20 a.m. and got into Chicago at 8:33 a.m. I tried to explain that Michigan
> > was an hour ahead of Illinois, but she could not understand the concept of
> > time zones. Finally, I told her the plane went very fast, and she bought that!
> >
> >
> > A New York lawmaker called and asked, "Do airlines put your physical
> > description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?"
> >
> > I said, "No, why do you ask?" She replied, "Well, when I checked in with the
> > airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I'm overweight. I
> > think that is very rude?" After putting her on hold for a minute while I
> > 'looked into it' (I was actually laughing) I came back and explained the city
> > code for Fresno, CA is (FAT), and that the airline was just putting a
> > destination tag on her luggage.
> >
> > A Senator's aide called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii. After
> > going over all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be cheaper to fly to
> > California and then take the train to Hawaii?"
> >
> > I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman who asked, "How do I
> > know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he
> > replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these darn planes have
> > numbers on them."
> >
> > A lady Senator called and said, "I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola, FL. Do I
> > have to get on one of those little computer planes?" I asked if she meant fly to
> > Pensacola, FL on a commuter plane. She said, "Yeah, whatever!"
> >
> > A senior Senator called and had a question about the documents he needed in
> > order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded
> > him that he needed a visa. "Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times
> > and never had to have one of those." I double checked and sure enough, his
> > stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, "Look, I've been to China
> > four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!"
> >
> > A New Mexico Congresswoman called to make reservations, "I want to go from
> > Chicago to Rhino, New York." The agent was at a loss for words. Finally, the
> > agent said, "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" "Yes, what flights do
> > you have?" replied the lady. After some searching, the agent came back
> > with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and
> > can't find a Rhino anywhere." The lady retorted, "Oh, don't be silly! Everyone
> > knows where it is. Check your map!" The agent scoured a map of the state of
> > New York and finally offered, "You don't mean Buffalo, do you?" "That's it! I
> > knew it was a big animal," she said.
> >
> > Now you know why Government is in the shape that it's in.

I used to live in Ontario just across the border from Massena New York and in the Swamp heat of August I'm talking 100 in the shade Americans used to show up with skis strapped to their cars wanting to know where the nearest ski hill was. We explained the nearest snow would be North of Hudson Bay as it was August. They just looked and said how far about 1ooo miles North we said trying not to laugh.

Making travel arrangements would be a low-level staff task, wouldn't it? I can't believe all these senators and congressmen would be calling travel agents on a regular basis.

n/t

My real life one is this. A girl I knew in high school who had just had a baby asked if I thought she should have her son circumcise. I said well it is up to you and your husband and she said well he may want children and if they cut it off he can't.I can still recall my self sitting beside her trying to figure what to say.

An acquaintance of mine told me about the time when a friend of his teaching school in Albuquerque got a letter from an elementary school teacher in Vermont teaching geography. The Vermont teacher wanted my acquaintance's friend to send her some New Mexican stamps.

:eyes: :dunce:

(10 years at National Airport in Washington DC) and as dumb as many people are, this email, which I'd already seen before, is obviously made up.