Although this occurred a few years ago, I feel like I should record it so my posterity can have a good laugh (I should say another good laugh) at my expense. This is how the story goes:
Long before I was comfortable using the computer to make airline reservations, I used to call them on that old fashioned thing called a land-line phone. One day I needed to verify a ticket I had purchased so I called Delta Airlines. Of course I was immediately sent into that deep and dark pit known as an "automated system," where I dutifully pushed the numbers as requested of me. As with every automated phone system you are first informed that "Your call is very important to us. Please stay on the line. Due to an unusually high call volume your estimated wait time is..."(anywhere from one minute to 50 minutes). You are then given options such as "If you want to make a new reservation, push 1, (I suspect these calls are answered very quickly), if you want to change an existing reservation, push 2", etc. On this particular occasion I was asked to enter my flight identification number, followed by the pound sign (since I am recounting this by memory, you can tell I have done this many, many times). For some reason, though, each time I tried to enter the number the pleasant automated female voice would say, "I'm sorry, I didn't get that. Please repeat." After several tries and a few frustrated grunts on my part, the system finally suggested: "If you need help, say "Help". I began to say "Help" over and over into the phone with no result. I looked and felt like an idiot, shouting louder each time. It was then that I noticed one of my children laughing hysterically from across the room.
I have said this before, but repeat, my role in this family is usually to provide comic relief for the rest of the group, and this I do on a regular basis.
