When the signs said for me not to stay in Austin then I proceeded to check out other options. The Universe provided a cheap flight to Panama from Orlando, Florida, so I booked it. The Greyhound bus ticket was also amazingly inexpensive, thus I’m here in Shreveport, Louisiana, awaiting my bus to Orlando. It seems that the adventure resumes, but this time I’m a bit more educated about traveling in foreign countries, have an awesome new backpack set, and for some reason I’m nervous, probably because so far this morning everything seems to go wrong. First it was the fact that I didn’t sleep well for having diarrhea, then the auto-stop for the fuel pump didn’t work and caused a huge gas overflow, then when arriving at the bus station the attendant couldn’t find my reservation. After a 15 minute wait I finally reached a live person at the Greyhound’s toll free number to obtain my confirmation number. Gloria, the employee of Greyhound, wasn’t helpful, attentive, or even able to accomplish simple customer service aspects. Even now, while I sit here typing she is chatting and laughing with a co-worker about personal issues while the line of people waiting for tickets continues to grow. Why they only have one person capable of handling customers is unknown. I heard from another lady in line that Gloria has been working in this station for many years and as she said, “she’s just mean.”
I heard a song this morning and one of the lines was “this world is going crazy and I’m not sure if tomorrow is really going to be any better.” That’s the way I’ve been feeling since I’ve been back in the states. Companies don’t seem to care about providing even the slightest level of customer service, employees don’t seem to care about working, managers don’t seem to care much about ensuring their employees work, and the world is going crazy. Is it time for a revolt against the status quo? It seems that most people these days just accept the mistreatment of the various companies that they have to do business with to survive. Perhaps if we all could say NO to this mistreatment then maybe these big companies will have to take notice, but this would require a national boycott.
I’m sure that the day will end well and my traveling adventures will be good, but at the moment I’m just trying to overcome these feelings of angst about this trip. I arrive in Panama City, Panama, Wednesday afternoon and will be staying at Zuly’s Backpackers. I hope to be able to spend about a week exploring Panama before venturing south to South America. The current intentions are to work my passage through the Panama Canal as a line handler so I can get to Columbia. From there I will go as the wind blows to discover the various countries.
My feelings have lightened up some while typing, as people are coming over, sitting down and chat. I’m amazed by the friendliness of poorer people. It’s time to start getting ready to board the bus and I’ve already met several people who will be traveling with me. Even though it may have started off with stress, it’s going to end with the excitement of an adventure.
Tuesday and Wednesday
Adventure was an understatement. First, Greyhound lost my brand new large backpack, which was loaded with new clothes and items for the trip. Second, someone stole my wallet on the bus and the Greyhound driver wouldn’t stop to allow me to call the police and file a report. Thus, I ended up in Orlando, Florida, without any money, no luggage, and distraught over what had happened over the last two days. It didn’t seem to matter to the various Greyhound employees that my backpack was missing, even though I complained to all the people they told me to and even filled out a lost luggage form.
After a collect call to my sister’s home, I was wired some money and they bought a return ticket on Greyhound for me to get back to Louisiana so I could sort everything out. I’m sure I don’t need to mention this, however, I couldn’t make my flight to Panama. Thankfully, Spirit Airlines worked with my sister when she told them about the situation and I have the ticket on hold for a future date of travel.
Now, I’m in Louisiana waiting on new credit cards, going to get a new Social Security card, Medicare card, and driver’s license. It seems I’ll be here a minimum of 10 days while I wait for everything to arrive. There was only one agency, Bank of the Internet USA, that wouldn’t work with my sister, who had power of attorney, or myself when I made requests of them to cancel the current card, replace it and send it to the address where I was located. Instead, Bank of the Internet USA, decided that my “account needed special handling” and decided to close my account instead of providing any level of customer service. Thus, if anyone reads this when you search for Bank of the Internet USA, then I hope you will reconsider opening an account with them, as they are not capable of simple customer service let alone providing any level of regular support for your account.
On the other hand, Washington Mutual Bank has been extremely helpful and has worked hard to provide the help needed during a difficult situation, thus if you are looking for a great bank, please consider WAMU.
My father sent me an email with this message in it and it seems that I needed the reminder to go with the flow:
"GO GENTLY WITH THE FLOW"
If the sky above seems cloudy,
And you are left out in the rain,
If you are searching for a rainbow,
But the colors bring you pain,
If your world is not revolving,
And there is no end in sight,
If you are looking for the sunshine,
But all you see is night,
If all around are smiling,
But all you can do is frown,
If you are tired of all this living,
When life just brings you down,
Then look beyond your teardrops,
At the wonders of this land,
The beauty of a flower,
Like velvet in your hand.
Feel the air around you,
The smell of new mown hay,
Laughing children in the park,
The innocence there at play,
Imagine floating with a butterfly,
As she flutters between the trees,
Or the whispers of the ocean,
On warm hot summer's breeze,
Think of the taste of candy floss,
As it melts upon your tongue,
Or the melody of morning birds,
As they greet each day with song,
Remember words of beauty,
Told in your mother's embrace,
Feel the gentleness of her touch,
As she softly kissed your face,
Seek the good within you,
Cast the clouds from your sky,
Don't look toward the pavement,
But hold your head up high,
Think not what life owes you,
But of all you have to give,
Forget about tomorrow,
Then you can start to live.
So bless this age you are living in,
With the gifts you can bestow,
Don't disregard the stream of life,
Go gently with the flow.
Author Unknown
