Terry’s Top 10 Travel Quotes
Every year the American Film Institute conducts a poll of favorite movie moments, genres and characters. This year, the organization polled 1,500 industry professionals for their favorite movie quote. Here are the Top 10, in reverse order.
* “You talking to me?” (”Taxi Driver,” 1976)
* “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.” (”All about Eve,” 1950)
* “May the Force be with you.” (”Star Wars,” 1977)
* “All right, Mr. De Mille, I’m ready for my close-up.” (”Sunset Boulevard,” 1950)
* “Go ahead, make my day.” (”Sudden Impact,” 1983)
* “Here’s looking at you, kid.” (”Casablanca,” 1942)
* “Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” (”The Wizard of Oz,” 1939)
* “You don’t understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could’ve been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.” (”On the Waterfront,” 1954)
* “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.” (”The Godfather,” 1972)
* “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” (”Gone with the Wind,” 1939)
Interesting, but what’s this got to do with travel? Well, it inspired me to put together my top-ten list. Let’s call it Terry’s Top Ten Travel Quotes. And the winners are … (in reverse order):
* “I assure you that you’ll make your connection.” (Gate agent for Southwest Airlines, Tucson, 2004) We didn’t, but to the credit of Southwest, a customer service representative called later to apologize and offer some free travel certificates.
* “I guarantee that your luggage is safe here.” (Bellman at the Chicago Fairmont Hotel, 1997) He was trying to convince me to leave my bags on a luggage cart in an unprotected area near the registration counter. I didn’t bite.
* “It will be safe in your room.” (Assistant manager of the Sheraton Hotel at the Orlando Airport, 2001) She had refused to secure my laptop in the manager’s safe even though there was no safe in our room. I took down the names of other hotel employees who had overheard the conversation in case my laptop went missing, then tried to hide it as best I could in my room — which, of course, is a joke. (My laptop wasn’t stolen, but I was prepared to do battle with the Starwood chain if it had been.)
* “May I get you anything else?” (Flight attendant — I think they were called stewardesses back then — on Braniff Airways, 1981) I kindly declined the offer since another flight attendant had dumped a full glass of beer in my lap a half-hour earlier.
* “Oops.” (Me at a Guadalajara hotel, 1996) Having been in four hotel fires, I always scope out evacuation routes soon after dropping off my luggage in my room. This time, when I pushed on a door marked “Salida” to make sure it would open, I caused an alarm to sound. Luckily, it was a local alarm not connected to the hotel’s evacuation system. I learned from that experience to warn registration clerks of my safety routine, suggesting that a security officer might want to accompany me.
* “I saw them put your bags on the plane.” (Gate agent for Continental Airlines, Denver, 1986) As I met with clients the following day, I was wearing the same clothes I had worn on the plane. Meanwhile, my luggage was still on its way to my Los Angeles hotel.
* “We are investigating the cause of the alarm and will let you know if you should evacuate.” (Voice heard over the public-address system at the Rio Hotel, Las Vegas, 1999) My friend and I, realizing that we, not the disembodied voice, were the ones at risk, skedaddled out of the casino and waited in the parking lot for the all-clear. And yes, we were pretty much alone out there.
* “El hielo este puro.” (Server in a taqueria in San Carlos, Mexico, 1988) I didn’t believe her, so I stuck with bottled beer. My soon-to-be-stricken lunch mates, on the other hand, ordered up Fanta on ice.
* “I was waiting to see if it was going to be a big fire.” (Hotel guest in the Kellogg Hotel on the Michigan State University campus, 1995) I was a guest there that night, too, when a fire — a real fire with flames, smoke, firetrucks, firefighters, hoses, axes, the whole shebang — began in a storeroom. I evacuated with a dozen or so other guests and employees. We knew that by the time a fire gets to the “big” stage, it might be too late to escape.
* “Did you purchase any gas?” (Agent at the Avis Rent A Car return counter, Philadelphia Airport, 1998) She never missed a beat asking this question after I handed her the car keys and explained that I had been in an accident and nearly totaled the vehicle.
What these quotes may have lacked in honesty, elegance and wit, they more than make up for in the recollection of the quirks and challenges of travel.