First off, the game was crazy. The bulldogs played horribly for the first 3 quarters and
then woke up at the end of the game.
I'm not even sure why I kept watching it, but I did. Then the dawgs came charging back and took a one point lead with 1:45 left in the
game. I couldn’t believe that they had
managed to pull off such a comeback. Now, all the defense had to do was stand strong
for less than two minutes. “Come on
defense!!!” I yelled at the TV. And for
the first three downs, they did just that.
They actually forced auburn backwards and we had them at 4th
and long, just one more down to hold them… and then it happened, the
Auburn QB hurled a hail Mary pass towards a receiver who had 3 defenders around
him.
One of the bulldog defenders jumped up to intercept the pass
and another bulldog defender knocked the ball out of his hands... and up into the air…
and… the ball dropped right in front of the auburn receiver who bobbled the
ball and then somehow managed to gain control of it and jog into the end zone
for a touchdown. (insert your best slow
motion “NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” Sound here, because that was me yelling at the tv again) That score gave Auburn the lead with less
than a minute on the clock. Georgia did
an admirable job of pushing the ball down the field but ran out of time before
scoring again. So close, but no cigar.
As if watching all of that unfold wasn’t enough, I received
a text from my sister at the 1:45 mark in the above story, saying that she was
at the hospital with our mom, who had fallen and hurt her ankle. Like any good son, I am always concerned when
I hear that one of my parents is in the hospital… but this time I was
especially concerned because the CFO and I were supposed to be going on a
cruise with my parents in exactly 1 week!
Was this a minor ankle sprain or was it something more?
It turns out that walking to the mailbox is very dangerous,
as she managed to BREAK her ankle in two places. My mind started to quickly evaluate the upcoming
cruise trip… lots of walking (on a moving ship), lots trips up and down to
different levels of the ship, and relatively small bathrooms and showers… this
did not sound good for someone in a cast with a broken ankle. Worse yet, we were well within the “lose 100%
of the money that you paid for the cruise if you don’t go” period because we
were only 1 week away from departure. Oh
crap. I quickly understood why they
offer trip insurance, which we have never purchased in the past. Because, “What
are the odds that something happens?”
I decided to call the Royal Caribbean 800 number to see if
there might be an option for us. Perhaps
there was a room with a tub available that they could move mom and dad into. After a quick summary of what had happened,
the phone rep started by checking if there were any handicap rooms or suites
with tubs available. Nope. She then offered that we could change one person
in that room, so Dad could bring someone else on the cruise. I laughed.
I don’t think that would go over too well with Mom. I asked if we could change both people, but
she said no, at least one original person has to remain in the room. Strange rule, but OK.
I then asked if there was a chance that we could reschedule
the cruise… She noted that we didn’t have the trip insurance, which didn't help my case. However, she then noticed that this would be our 4th cruise with their company, so she went ahead and put me on hold so she could
talk with someone else about it. After a
few minutes she came back with this offer, “We will give you 24 hours to pick another cruise of equal or
greater value that leaves within the next six months and we will transfer 100% of what
you paid towards that trip.”
I’ll honestly say that I was shocked by the offer. I figured we’d lose 25%-50% of what we paid
if they let us move the trip. It is nice
to see that a big company like Royal Caribbean isn’t 100% set in their rules
and that they realize that accidents happen. I told her that the offer was more
than I could ask for and that we’d check back in with them on Sunday.
I woke up on Sunday morning to the sound of howling winds. The online weather info said we had 35 mph sustained
winds with gusts up to 50 mph. I spent
most of the morning researching cruise options and found a few options that
might work around the CFO's schedule. Around 11:00 am, it started
to get really dark outside and the wind picked up even more speed. Then the CFO texted saying that the ISU info
system had just sent her a tornado warning text. I turned on the weather channel and they were
talking about central Illinois, pointing out several actively rotating storm cells within 45 miles of us. I spent
the next hour watching the TV and looking out the window at a serious line of
storms moving across Bloomington, just to our west.
Then the power went out and stayed out for the next 5
hours. I spent the afternoon on the
phone sorting out the details of rescheduling our trip… which eventually sent me
out into the garage so that I could plug my phone into one of our cars so it
could recharge. Note to self: If the weather predictions say a storm is
coming, make sure that your cell phone is charged!
This is a photo of a neighborhood in Washington, IL, just 30 miles from our town, after a tornado on Sunday... Scary.
So sorry to year about your moms ankle. Glad everything worked out with your trip and the weather. I remember watching similar clouds in the mid-west its pretty scary and yes you should have a place to go in the basement. ;)
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