A Good Neighbor Policy

From time to time most of us are bitten by the “travel bug,” and usually the bite is not without its sting. One important function of a good “travel book” or travel agent is to anticipate the hazards and the hassles travelers are likely to encounter and to suggest ways and means of avoiding them. Even so, it is a rare trip on which nothing goes wrong. The story is told of a traveler who boarded a train in New York City. Immediately he went to the porter and said, “Look, I want to get off in Washington, D.C., but once I’m asleep it’s very difficult for me to wake up. Sometimes I say nasty things I don’t really mean. Here is five dollars. Please, no matter what I say, don’t be offended; just wake me up and put me off the train in Washington.” Hours later, he awakened as the train pulled into the station at Richmond, Virginia, 100 miles past Washington, his destination.…