$14: Tick Tock, Wrong Dock!

This is how asleep at the wheel I can get. Our ship-list in Skagway, AK, showed that TWO ships we needed to collect guests from were both at the Railroad dock. Easy peasy. Bryan, the driver, and I, the dock rep, roll out. But wait, check my video. At the beginning you can see one ship docked, right? Do you see it? Of course you do. One ship, not two. I don't even notice.

Now, as I turn west in the video, do you see the OTHER ship? Yeah? There it is. Clearly, the two ships are not on the Railroad Dock. I must have been snoozing. I carry on.

I head for the Railroad dock and find 4 of our 13 guests. All on one ship. Time ticks on. And on. Where is everyone from the second ship? I wait some more. "Brenda to Bryan," I radio. "Anyone sneak past me?"

"Nope. Waiting on  9 more guests."

Tap my toes. Wait some more. Tap my toes some mre. It's now 7:40. We leave at 8 sharp. Tick, tock, 7:45. Where the heck is everyone??? Bryan calls me on the radio.

"Go for Brenda!" I radio back.

"The other ship is over at the Ore dock! The second ship went to the wrong dock! Haha, all our missing people are over there!"

Yikes! As the British say--I can bloody well see it over there! "We better roll! Ten-four!" I holler into the radio as I race pell mell back to my car to see if I can't beat Bryan over to the Ore dock. Some of those folks, waiting in the wind that defines the Ore Dock of Skagway, might be madder than you-know-what. Nothing's worse than cranky tourists.

Bryan beat me. He soothed the troubled waters and had all but one safely into the bus, out of the terrible wind. "Missing one," he radioed.

So I take up position at the gangplank exit, hold up my SOUTHEAST TOURS sign, shout a happy hello through the roaring wind to other doc reps I've known awhie. Mr. Duley has three minutes, just three minutes, to show and then I'm outta here.

"Bryan to Brenda, it's 8:00! I'm headed out."

"Roger that!"

I can't believe it. We actually got out on time, minus Mr. Duley of course--never mind the wayward ship and me asleep at the wheel--all on video.

Here's the "take-away" point of this story. Never believe the paperwork, believe your eyes.

Of course, you have to look first!