The Jarret Jack Story

I wrote this before, but here is a recap...

A few years ago I decided that I would visit my friend down in Atlanta. I booked a super cheap flight with a layover or 2. Anything to save a few bucks.

The first plane was delayed like woah. When I finally got on board, it seemed that the connection I had was going to be missed. Most of the people on the flight had similar thoughts. The guy in the seat next to me started to talk to me about the situation.

"CRAP" I thought to myself. I didn't want to talk. I wanted to not talk.

The guy was an older guy wearing a warm up suit and a Trailblazers hat. He was reading the box scores on the sports page. He talked about how his nephew Chris Duhon had a good game the other night at Duke. He then mentioned that Jarret Jack also had a good game the other night in the NBA. He then mentioned that Jarret Jack was his son.

I did not believe him. He seemed like a crazy obsessed basketball fan. The fact that he was claiming 2 NBA players was crazy. Also, why was he on this cheap ass flight?

I grilled him over as much as I could, and he passed the test. This actually was Jarret Jack's father.

He told me about the time that his son bought him an SUV, and about how Jarret & Duhon were cousins, and about family reunions and stuff. I told him about my glory days in High School where I "played against" (bench) his son at Palotti (which I didn't know about), and my other great stories.

After all the basketball talk, Mr. Jack told me all the ways to save money. Take cheap flights, try to get bumped, hope for flight delays. He was Carl Wethers in Arrested Development. ("A Loophole in the system Discovered by the wrong guy) He gave me advice on sending food back to the kitchen, complaining to management, and taking advantage of coupons. (not really)

When the flight finally got in to destination 1, everyone missed their connection. Mr. Jack told me to follow him, and I became his protege and he, my role model.

When a flight is missed, the airline gives you like a $10 voucher for a meal and a hotel room for the night. Mr. Jack was not satisfied. He went up to customer service, and when he came back he now had like $50 worth of dinner vouchers.

He then showed me another trick. He went down to customer service, who supplied us with a shirt, toothbrush, and other nessesities. I didn't even know that was an option.

I hung out with Mr. Jack the rest of the night and he constantly asked for my number. Said he would call me when in DC and we could go to the Wizards game together and I could meet his son. I never did end up giving him my number, kinda wish I did.