...And, This Little Piggy Stayed Home...

Sigh.

The now-suicidal travel agent called today. She didn't have very happy news. Seems that with all the people refusing to go to Mexico due to the supposed Swine Flu (of which like twelve people have in the world), they've diverted "our" plane (the one that was supposedly going to Cancun so we could sit on a beach in Riviera Maya) to Jamaica.

Really. Jamaica.

This means we don't have a flight anymore on the day we set up the flight. And, this change led to more complications with the vacation in general.

I drove my sorry ass self to the actual travel agency, as I figured this would be the best way to communicate with my sad sack of a travel agent. Besides, I'm a counselor--if anyone needs counseling these days, it's gotta be a travel agent. (That, and the entire Mexican government. This nonsense will destroy any hope they had of having an economy.) When I got there, I could barely see Travel-agent-grrrl, as she was hidden behind gobs of paperwork. She looked defeated as she motioned for me to sit down. We talked about the whole mess that was now our vacation. We could go to Jamaica but that would mean all sorts of changes. I didn't ask about cost. We talked about the Swine Flu and how the Media has really done a horrible thing.

Mass hysteria. Maybe they should call it "Mass Media Hysteria."

(I plead ignorance....I still don't understand how the "regular" flu can kill literally tens of thousands of people every year and you never hear about it. This flu comes along, a handful fall over, the world goes into hysteria. What IS this all about? Is this some plot to divert us from the woes of the world like the collapsing economy? "Divert the plane--maybe they won't notice Chrysler is tanking.")

She summed it up best when she said, "this is worse than 9/11."

Now, neither of us are even remotely saying that the Swine Flu is any comparison to the horrific events on 9/11. Dear god, there is really no comparison. She was just saying that people stopped flying then and changed their plans--understandably. Everything was a mess--understandably. Our world was turned upside down. No one wanted to fly anywhere--and, even if they did, planes were grounded for days--understandably. Being a travel agent back then must have been awful, as I know they understood how tragic event 9/11 was and how it was reasonable that everything came to a grinding halt.

What ISN'T understandable is how a flu like this has caused global hysteria and thus pissed all over our vacation.

Before I went to the travel agent this afternoon, the wife wisely said, "if they offer us an 'out,' we should take it." After all, this whole piggy thing and other vacation-related stressors seemed like a sign from God (Montezuma?) that this trip was just a plain old bad idea.

Travel Agent Grrrl indicated she would seek a full refund for us. I took the offer. I hope she's right, cuz I paid for that puppy on my charge card. At this point, I trust her. I mean, she didn't try to convince me to consider anywhere else. She didn't try even one tiny bit--not even a "I hear Antartica is beautiful this time of year." Nothing.

The wife and I are very sad. We love Mexico. We love the beach, the sun, the food. While going to Taco Bell isn't exactly like going to Riviera Maya, we might have to settle for it. I know there will be awesome vacation plans in our future. It just isn't right now.

Some little piggies get roast beef, some get none. Some little piggies go to market. This little piggy's staying home.

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