In this case I actually blame the system

I'm not criticizing mom here, for the most part. This story is more cute than anything else, although I'm asking myself why I'm blogging when I should be in bed, because if I'm not in bed I should be watching Project Runway but I decided to go to bed because I was too tired. It's also more an indictment of the websites and internet service of the travel industry, already on my shit list because I had to spend time on the phone with Delta today because they introduced a pin on their site and I had to set one. I do not like spending time on the phone. That is why I do business by internet. While I was setting a pin, all the remotely decent fares to Boston around New Years' appear to have been bought up.

Mom called in the early evening to say hello and ask a question about her upcoming flight to California.

Mom: It says reconfirm. Do I reconfirm with the airline or expedia? I need to finalize my ticket...
A.: I'm not sure what you mean. Did you already buy your ticket?
Mom: It says I have 24 hours...
A.: That usually means you have that long to pay for the ticket.
Mom: But they already charged my card.
A.: Then you don't have to do anything.
Mom: I'll forward it to you.

Hours later, she forwards it to me. I call her to say I can't see what she's referring to, since I can't log into her expedia account. She copies and pastes the offending sentence into an e-mail.

Mom: See where it says reconfirm?
A.: That just means you call the airline or check online to make sure the flight hasn't been delayed.
Mom: But it says 24 or up to 72 hours...
A.: Believe me, that means they recommend that you confirm that everything's on time, etc. You do not need to confirm to them that you are going.
Mom: Are you sure?
A.: Yep.
Mom: Okay, goodnight.
A.: Goodnight.

My parents, while not native English speakers, are not new to the world of air travel. Less than a month ago, I saw an entire line of people waiting to check in at an airport held up by people who couldn't figure out kiosks. Sometimes I can't say I blame them. These things are not always self explanatory and the industry could do a lot more to guide infrequent flyers about procedures. Our parents and their generation taught us to read and add. The least we can do is make travel in the 21st century more navigable for them.