The Journey

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“Thank you for calling Travelers, this is Jeanie speaking. How may I help you.”

“Yeah. . uh hi, umm. . . I was trying to buy  some insurance on your website and I was having some trouble?”

“Ok, what kind of insurance were you trying to buy?”

“I wanted to buy travel insurance?”

“Okay, I can help you with that. Let me just get some information from you.”

“Okay.  Thanks so much. I kept trying to submit my application and I kept getting these error messages, you know?”

“I understand. Let’s get started with your dates of travel.”

“Umm, well it’s kind of open-ended. I’d like to begin my journey as soon as possible really, but I’m not sure when I’ll. . .arrive, you know.”

“Okay, we can work with that.  Do you have a ballpark, a general of idea of when you want to depart and return.”

“Well, in terms of departure, I’m thinking today would be great.  You know what they say:

‘Today is the first day of the rest of your life.’  As for return, ideally I don’t ever want to come back.”

“Ok. . .that is a little tricky. We can insure you for same day travel as long as you haven’t already begun your trip.  But we can only insure your travel for a specified length of time. It sounds like you’re considering an open ended trip so what I’d suggest you do is buy insurance for however long you think your trip is going to be--a week, a month, 90 days, whatever.  And then you can always extend it if you want.”

“Ok that sounds workable. What’s the longest amount of time I can buy insurance for.”

“90 days is the maximum, but you can always extend that.”

“Ok, so let’s do 90 days.”

“Very good.  And will your travel be domestic or international?”

“I don’t really know. . .I may have to stay close to home, because you know, I have a job and everything.  But then again, I might just quit--you know, tell the boss to take this job and shove it.  Man, that would feel so good.  Another thing is, I”m not sure how my wife is gonna feel about all of this. I might need to flee to Mexico, if you know what I mean.  I’m not even sure if I believe in marriage anymore, you know.  I’m kind of interested in exploring open marriage?  But again I don’t know how that’s going to go.”

“I’m not quite sure I follow. . .you’re not sure where you’re going?”

“Well, I don’t where I’m going.  But I sure know where I’ve been. Hanging on the promises and the songs of yesterday. But I’ve made up my mind; I ain’t wasting no more time. “

“Pardon me?”

“I’m going down the only road I’ve ever known.  Like a drifter, I was born to walk alone.”

“So it sounds like you’re staying fairly local.  Domestic travel it is.”

“Sure.  But like I said, that could change.”

“Ok, but just to be clear, the type of package we offer does depend on the nature of your travel.  And I have to stress that once you’ve begun travel we aren’t able to change your coverage.”

“I understand.  I just know I need to do this and I know I need insurance.”

“That’s fine. We’ll do our best to work with you.  Let’s talk about coverage.  What kind of coverage do you need?”

“I don’t know. Probably best to get it all.”

“Well, our most popular package is our vacation package--that includes trip cancellation--”

“Oh no, I don’t want that!”

“You don’t want what?”

“The trip cancellation.  The last thing I need is anything that will tempt me to back out. "

“Well, just to be clear it applies to certain common situations in which your trip might be cancelled--family health emergency, hurricane damaging your destination or cancelling your flight, that sort of thing. You can’t just cancel your trip and expect insurance to cover you.”

“I don’t care. I don’t need any excuses not to take this journey. No cancellation insurance"

“Okay, that’s a bit unusual but we can do that.  What about the other provisions of a vacation package. We have medical emergencies, evacuation, lost, stolen, or delayed baggage, all covered in one convenient plan.”

“Okay, so medical emergencies. .. yeah, let’s go with that.  Like I said, I don’t know how my wife is gonna take this. She might kill me!”

“So we can add AD&D. ..”

“AD&D?”

“Accidental Death and Dismemberment”

“Oh yeah, definitely. Dismemberment could be in my future especially when she finds out about the Porsche I bought.  Now, about the baggage.  My whole goal is to get rid of my baggage, so I don’t think I need that.”

“You’re traveling without baggage?”

“That’s the goal.  That’s the goal.”

“Okay. ..”

“And what’s this about evacuation?”

“If you needed to be evacuated due to natural disaster or unrest.”

“So if I’ve found I’ve backed myself into a corner, I could be bailed out, right? I like the sound of that.”

“Sir, I’m not quite sure if you’re understanding how this works.  May I ask, exactly what kind of trip you are planning to take?”

“Well, I guess the best way to put it is that I’m embarking on a journey of self-discovery.”

“A what?”

“A journey of self-discovery. You know, finding myself.  My therapist says it’s important that I take this journey. And I feel like I really need insurance, because honestly I don’t know how this is going to go.”

“I’m sorry, we can’t insure you for a journey like that. We deal with actual, physical travel, not. . .mid-life crises.”

“Hey, that’s kind of low.”

“Just calling it like I see it, sir.”

“Damn.  Isn’t there anything I can purchase?  I mean what if something happens? I need some protection.”

“I hate to break it to you, sir.  But when it comes to self-discovery, I know what it means to walk along a lonely street of dreams.  And, well, it’s like you said earlier. . .you’re on your own.”

“I get the feeling you’re mocking me.”

“Not at all, sir. Not at all.”

“Okay, well I guess that’s it, huh.”

“Yes sir.”

**sigh**  “Here I go again.”

“Best of luck to you sir.”

Call disconnected.