They chucked me off my plane last night — because my passport expires two days under three months before I was to return from Amsterdam. This was a Europe rule, not an America rule.
So now, I’m sitting on free Wi-Fi in Cafe Nero, two doors down from the Boston Passport Agency in the Tip O’Neill Federal Building. I’ve filled in all their forms, been poked, prodded, x-rayed, searched, had my photo taken without glasses and paid $190.
God willing, I will get my new passport at 2:45 PM — in time for tonight’s 10:03 PM flight to Amsterdam.
To JetBlue’s credit, they switched last night’s ticket to tonight with no fees. More important, their nice people got me the 9:30 AM appointment at the Passport Agency.
Why JetBlue didn’t tell me about the three months is beyond my tiny brain and clearly, JetBlue’s even tinnier computer.
International travel has become so complicated that it really pays to employ a travel agent and NOT to do it yourself. Conflict of Interest: My sister Barbara is a travel agent.
The moral of today’s idiocy is CHECK your passport. If it’s expiring fewer than six months from now, get a new one. Watch out for Cafe Nero. I paid $20 for a cup of coffee and a turkey/cheese baguette. But I could see it as $1 for the food and coffee and $19 for the Wi-Fi. That makes me feel better.
The passport people are still working their jobs.. They’re not furloughed. And they’re very sweet. You can apply in person and get a new passport the same day. (I hope.) It’s better service than the airlines, whose web sites and computers suck big-time.
Tip: Fly business class to Europe. Sleep. Fly premium economy back — since most back flights are day flights. Sleep in your own bed.
God bless AI
True story: Sirius XM mails me: My new charges for two cars are $42.97 a month.
That is a whopping 287% increase from the $14.96 a month I was paying.
I called their “customer service” number. They had a nice AI chatbot, who reduced my charges to $8.49 a month per car. All told, that’s only a 13% increase. And I never had to speak to a real person.
The moral of this story: Any service you have on auto-pay will up their charges when you’re not looking.
I don’t have an easy answer.
More tips
+ Bluetooth is about as a reliable as a two-bob watch. (Australian expression.) AirTags are semi-useful. Better than an AirTag is the small iPad. It makes a real racket when you try to find it. Apple Airtags need their battery changed, but don’t tell you when. They’ll happily die without telling you. They use a CR2032 three volt lithium battery.
+ Write a bad review on Amazon and the manufacturer will offer your money back and then some. I wrote a bad review on a bad product. The manufacturer offered me my money back and a profit — but only AFTER I’d removed the review. Which I didn’t.
+ I’m still addicted to Amazon. For every little problem I have, Amazon has a solution. Often several of them. And usually for stuff I can’t find locally. Amazon is now great for jeans, shorts, and sneakers.
+ The iPhone 17 Pro (my favorite) is now available to buy, outright or from one of the carriers. If you have an iPhone16, don’t bother. It’s not a trivial job to move to a new phone. There’s all those apps you have, some of which may no longer be available.
Pickleball is dangerous
We tennis players call pickleball crippleball. Lots of old, out of condition people play pickleball and get injured. Much more than in tennis. The New York Times ran a piece “Many Older Adults are Dying After A Fall.” Click here.
Don’t do stupid. Don’t fall on the last step. And don’t play crippleball.
I’m going to Amsterdam to see the grandkids and play this board game
Good news
On the cleft is me today. Five of my teeth are missing because of wobbly aging posts. And the three new implants need time (months) to cement themselves. But Walmart has good news! Eat your heart out Dr Sergio Guzman, my Boston dentist miracle worker (I hope).
Favorite cartoons
Three hours to go before I get my new passport.
Wish me luck. — Harry Newton
