Billy and The Jets

Rocky

Honorificabilitudinitatibus
Apr 4, 2002
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www.rockysbar.com
I can't get that Elton John song, "Benny and The Jets" out of my mind.
It's one of those tunes that gives you that warm fuzzy feeling.
But this story is about Wilson (aka Billy) the taxi driver, his wife Angelina, and our very own DR1 member, Dafishguy and Mrs Fish, Christmastime, airtravel, lost luggage, dirty laundry, new friends and more.

It started 2 days ago when Dafishguy's brother phoned me to tell me that his brother missed his flight in Atlanta and wouldn't be coming 'till the following day.
Of course, I rented his room out for the night, and of course, destiny played a dirty trick on me, as Dafishguy and his wife showed up here at 10 PM, rerouted via Santo Domingo, a 6 hour taxi ride, and I no longer had a room or condo for him.
Judy at Las Canas bailed us out and put them up for the night.
Now these poor souls arrived here after a day of travel, with NO LUGGAGE, (all lost in transit) not a single change of clothing, no toothbrush (for anyone who has ever had all his luggage lost, you know what I'm talking about) but they still had smiles on their faces, and before we could all get to sitting down, Dafishguy is tossing substantial amounts of money at me for the Christmas presents.
At this point I'm starting to like these folks. They've just been through hell and back, and they're more concerned about the poor kids, than their own problems.

Comes the next day, they manage to buy a bit of clothing, we get them into their room here, and they're having a great ole' time. (Great atttitude... I like people with good attitudes)

Finally we get a call from Santo Domingo, and their bags will be arriving at 3 AM.
Geez... Talk about an inconvenient hour...
Nobody wants to have to stay up 'till 3 waiting for the luggage taxi, but what choice is there?
So Dafishguy grabs the cordless telephone and readies himself for a sleepless night, waiting on the taxi driver to call him in the middle of the night, to open the door and receive his bags.
Then, out of the blue, at 11PM, I get a call from the taxi driver, telling me he's 2 blocks away from us with the bags.
I meet him at the door, but unfortunately, there's only one bag. SHYTE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We're told the other bags will come the next day.
How messed up can these folks be?
Well.... At least we don't have to stay up all night waiting on them.

Morning comes, (I'm an early riser) it's 4:45 AM, and before I can get up to make coffee, I hear my cellphone beeping.
5 phonecalls, all private, the last one came in at 4:17 AM, and I'm finally getting the picture.
There must be two taxi drivers, and the one who came at 11 PM was not the same guy who called me to say he was arriving at 3 AM.
Sometimes, I'm as dumb as a stump.
I can't call the guy back, because the number came in as private, and he clearly made several attempts to call me to give me the bags, and who knows where they are going to land up now?
The guy's from Santo Domingo, and he ain't going to spend the the whole night trying to find me.
By now, I'm really feeling like a dummy.

Off to the kitchen to make coffee, and what do you know, a car shows up, shining his lights into the bar.
Sure enough, it's Wilson, (aka Billy) and his wife, and they've got the lost luggage.
At this point, I'm happier than a pig in poop, and I just can't believe that this dude stuck it out, wasting his time trying to do his job, despite me screwing up.
He doesn't even look angry, in fact, he's as courteous as can be, with a great big smile.
I ask him to wait, while I get the keys to open the gates, and while I'm in my room, I figure that I'd better get 500 pesos out as a tip, 'cause he certainly deserves at least that.
It turns out that he's managed to find out from the locals who we are, has gone down to El Tablon to wake Milka's mother up, to see if she can help him get in touch with us.
I mean... This guy is resourceful and conscientious.

So Wilson gives me the bags, I apologize profusely, I slip him the 500 pesos which he receives gracefully and is about to hit the road, when it occurs to me that they might like a cup of coffee.
Their eyes light up at the prospect of a good cup of coffee, and they come inside and sit with me for a bit of Moca Java.
I see Angelina staring at all the Christmas presents, and realize that she must have kids, and within minutes, we have presents in her hands for all 3 kids, and a bottle of champagne for a special evening.
Now these people are sweeter than honey, (kind of like JJ and Roccio, for those of you who have met them) and we're quickly becoming friends.
You know... The type of people, that within 5 minutes of meeting them, you know that they're good people, and that you've just met some friends for life.
We chatted over coffee for 15 minutes or so, discussed the best route back to Santo Domingo, and off they went, thanking me for the presents and champagne, without a hint of anger about me having failed them and wasting so much of their time.

That's when I started hearing that tune in my mind.
"tum, tum, tum... tum tum tum tum tum tum, Benny & the jets........
Only, for the sake of this story, it's now "Billy and the Jets", Billy being Wilson, and the jets, being those airlines who lost all the luggage.
What a nice way to start Christmas Eve.........
 

LuvtheDR

New member
Apr 4, 2004
347
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Good things happen to good people!

B-B-B-Billy and the jets.....

I'll be singing it all day....thanks a lot! ;)
 

Dafishguy

Bronze
Oct 30, 2007
316
73
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Only the best from Rocky's

Wow Marco, We don't know what to say. 4:45 in the morning? Now that's something special. We are just overwhelmed with how well we have been treated since we arrived at your hotel.

Folks, Marco actually gave me "TWO" shirts off his back because we had nothing when we arrived except our over ripe travel clothes. (And our smiles, remember, we came from the frozen north so we were very warm when we arrived but VERY HAPPY to be in the DR if you get the picture) Well, it might have been from the aroma wafting over to Marco which gave him the idea that I might like a change of clothes but I really appreciated the gesture. Thanks Marco. :) Unfortunatly, Mrs. Fish had to do without because Marco has no female clothing, (That we know about, wink wink) :)

Anyway, Marco found us a room, Lent us pesos because we only had dollars and made sure we were properly fed and properly watered before sending us out to our very comfortable room. (He opened a closed kitchen for us)

We just can't say enough about Marco and the staff at Rocky's. First class operation.

We hope to give many more reports as our trip progresses and we definately can't wait until the New Years Eve run.

Take care.

Rick & Jeannette