I traveled constantly for decades as a professional public speaker and humorist. I knew every trick about getting the best airline schedule, price and seat.

Them days are gone forever.

Now — in my mid-seventies — I seldom travel. Last week was one of those “seldom” trips. Wife Gail and I flew to Boston (BOS) from East Tennessee to share our grandson Rowan’s ninth birthday.

We flew both ways on Delta, the airline upon which I am a Million Miler and which still treats me very well. Since many of the pax rules have changed recently, I checked all the new rules for pax. To my surprise, on the phone one Delta person told me that carry-on bags were limited to five inches high! I couldn’t believe that, so called again, talked to a different person and was told again that the five-inch-rule was correct. We looked all over the house to find two bags that met the five-inch rule.

Imagine our surprise when we got to the airport and learned that the size limit for carry-on bags hasn’t changed one bit since my constant-travel days! (After our return I called “Paul” at Delta and he was both amazed and apologetic.)

It snowed at BOS, and our return flight was delayed for hours while they thawed and de-iced the entire aircraft. No complaints from me. If the pilots don’t feel safe, I don’t want to go until they want to go. As we sat in our seats, the lady from the boarding gate came into the airplane, found our seats and explained that she had booked Gail and me for a later flight from Atlanta to Tennessee and also arranged for an electric cart to meet us at the ATL gate. Pretty good service, huh?

When we got to ATL, there was no electric cart. The gate agent told me that no electric carts left the main concourses to serve people at the gates. That’s not true. Almost immediately—as we walked—we saw not one, but four — repeat, four — electric carts working the gates. This, of course, is something pax may well blame on the airport—your airport, perhaps?

When I told this to Delta’s “Paul” he was once again amazed and apologetic.

OTOH, there was also good news. We thoroughly enjoyed our son Kevin, his wife Shirley and grandson Rowan — the best looking and smartest grandson in the world!