Augustana College

Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota brought us in for their freshman orientation show on September 6th for what would be a rocking fun show. The audience loved us, and the student activities board members took us out for a really fun supper before the show.

A notable event on this day that had nothing to do with the school or the show was a problem with our transportation, specifically the airline known as "Air-Tran". I have a big blue and red prop case. I tour with it, and keep it on stage during shows and balance it on my face. This case was custom made to my specifications, and I took airline maximum size measurements into consideration when designing it. Despite these precautions, the Air-Tran ticket agent at BWI found a way to measure the case that added two inches to the size of the case, thus tacking on a $40 oversize baggage fee. As we were paying the fee I asked how she had measured it, and her response was a very hostile "We can argue about this all day or you can just pay the fee and get on with it". Now, what had happened with the measurements was that she'd measured the wheels and rubber pads that stick out from the box, which I hadn't considered that in my measurements, and all I was doing by asking was trying to confirm this; I was not trying to fight her. In over a year of flying with the case, this was the first time it's been a problem, and all I needed was to confirm what the problem was. I must admit that in response to her attitude I let loose a stream of language that would make a sailor proud. Seriously folks, at 5:30am, I don't need to take crap like that from the people I'm handing money to.