"But it says it expires on 6 Jan" I explained to the man wielding the scanner
"Computer says you used it on the 29th"
"I couldn't have. I was in Vancouver"
I was trying to board the gondola for my final lesson on my final day. And my lift pass had apparently expired.
"Look, I'm going to miss my class. My pass says it ends on 6 Jan. How can it have expired?"
"Computer says you used it on the 29th" was the response
I considered my options. I could make a fuss and lose my last afternoon of skiing or I could swallow the 20 dollars and be done with.
"How old are you?" I asked
"31"
"Do you smoke?"
"Yes... why do you want to know?"
"No reason"
I paid the money and rode the gondola, secure in the knowledge that the officious lift attendant would most likely be dead before me. Such things sustain me in this cruel world.
