Feeling Ripped Off…Again!

I had a bit of a George Banks moment while taking my kids to Chicago this week.

Who is George Banks? He is the father character, played by Steve Martin, in the 1991 movie Father of the Bride. George was doing his best to take the ridiculousness of the expense and excessiveness from a day of wedding planning for his daughter in stride. At the end of this difficult day, George’s wife asks him to run to the store to pick up some dinner. George loses his marbles in the bread aisle. He had a package of eight hot dogs and was upset because the hot dog buns were sold in packages of twelve. He ripped open the package of buns and removed the four “superfluous buns” because he didn’t want to pay for something he didn’t need.

This scene is replayed on YouTube.

I took my kids downtown earlier this week in order to bring my youngest daughter to select her doll at the American Girl Place. The expense and excessiveness of that store is tough for me to handle because I’m just too practical and, admittedly, cheap. Nevertheless, the doll is a gift from Grandma and Grandpa and it is something that she will always remember. So, like George Banks, I smile and do my best to put up with the ridiculousness of paying $14 to have a doll's ears pierced and $28 for a doll outfit.

I was prepared to pay for a fun lunch and a few stops, like the Hershey Chocolate Store.  I was also prepared to pay for my oldest daughter’s train fare as she is now 12 and no longer qualifies for free train rides.

When I went to buy the train tickets, it was $13.75 one-way for the four of us to get to Chicago. The adult fare was $5.25 and my 12 year-old qualified for the student fare of $2.50. My seven and nine year-olds were also charged $2.50. (As a side note, if we had purchased our tickets on the train, we would have been charged an additional $3 per person.)

I was NOT prepared to pay for the fares of my seven and nine year-olds.  Because there was on the Metra rate hikes, I knew that the adult fares had gone up in price. However, I never saw mention of the children being charged. For as long as I can remember, kids age 11 and under rode Metra for free with a fare-paying adult.

When you are a parent, trying to have a fun day with your kids, you will ruin the experience by having a George Banks moment. However, in my head, I was having one:

“This is blatant rip-off of the regular person. They are passing the burden on to us AGAIN.”

 “How can today’s parents show the awesomeness of Chicago to our kids anymore? We are getting nickle-and-dimed at every turn.” 

“The cost of gas and parking are out of control and now the train too?”

“We’ll be eating ramen noodles for a week now!”

I realize the far-reaching impact of our bad economy. I also realize that I shouldn’t let a $2.50 charge for a 20+ mile train trip to Chicago upset me, especially when we were going to purchase a $100 doll. However, we all have a straw that breaks the camel’s back, and, for me, it was something that used to be free but no longer is.

My George Banks moment stayed in my head.  I did not flip out at any unsuspecting person. Our train ride into Chicago was uneventful. When we got outside of the Canal Street exit, my daughter wanted to get a drink. We found a CVS and purchased a Sobe Lifewater drink for her. At the self-checkout, the total seemed to be higher than I anticipated. I looked at the receipt. The tax on her drink was 12.5%. Time to quell my inner George Banks again!