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I Am Not at Home

I am traveling. Amoeba is not.  He is still at home.  I have a zippy little rental car I abhor and am in a hotel with a sweet little name and great staff.  The room boasts nice furniture and a comfy bed, but things are starting to look a little worn around the edges.  Amoeba probably would have zipped right by this place, but I am so glad I decided to stop.  Let me explain …

I forgot to tell the bank I was leaving home, so the computer freaked at the unusual activity on my bank card and put a stop on it.  Of course, it did this when I was trying to check into my hotel room.  I am far from home, alone, and don’t have enough cash in my wallet to compensate for a loss quite that large. 

I called the bank.  They said they’d reset the account and I should have funds again by morning.  In the meantime I am having visions of spending the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot in an economy car. NOT my idea of a good time.

I called Amoeba.  He didn’t answer. I apologized to the hotel clerk and picked up my stuff, fated to spend the night in my car — and the clerk said, “Here’s your room key.  Go ahead and go up.  These things happen.  You can just pay us in the morning.”

I was astounded.  People just don’t do things like that.  I bet it wouldn’t have happened at that ritzy hotel up the street.  THAT is why I am glad I stopped here.

So, I get to my room and Amoeba calls, all stressed because the bank called him about the activity on the card. He, of course, is worried about where I am and if I am safe.  He was astounded to learn I was in my room.  He also told me that he confirmed my whereabouts with the bank, and my card should work again.  I went down to the desk and paid my bill.  The clerk wasn’t at all surprised and told me they’d never been stiffed yet.

Tomorrow I meet a fellow blogger and spend some time with a cousin I haven’t seen in several years.  She just told me that today is her eldest child’s 28th birthday, and last time I saw him he was still crawling and in diapers.  Oh my.

16 Comments

  4. Yep, it’s always best to notify the bank. For our Hong Kong trip, David called 2 credit card companies and our local bank. Hope there are no problems!

  7. Oh BOY! Out on adventures and it gets adventuresome RIGHT AWAY! That was JUST what Jesus wanted that clerk to do! Be the good Samaritan! Amen! Hope the rest of your travels are equally adventuresome – but in a whole ‘nuther way! 🙂 Have a BLAST!

  10. That’s good that it all worked out. That happened to my mom once when we were on a vacation. That wasn’t fun. Since then I’ve always worried about using my debit while on the road, though, as of yet my bank has only contacted me once for an unusual charge…when I purchased my iPod.

  14. And today is my eldest son’s birthday (he’s only 19)! Hooray for Earth Day birthdays! 😀

    Now I am wondering where you are traveling…. ?

  15. I’m glad all turned out well. It’s always nice to meet wonderful people. Bless the hotel staff’s beautiful soul. Wishing the birthday child a lot of joy and blessings as he steps into another year.

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