Photo of the Day (10.31.10)

Happy Halloween! Er, should I make that Happy Day of the Dead? Believe it or not, America isn’t the only country that likes to celebrate spooky holidays. In Mexico and some parts of Latin America, November 2nd is the chosen day to remember and celebrate the lives of deceased ancestors. Though one might think a holiday about death would be a somber affair, it’s usually not. Much like Halloween, family and friends get together to laugh, eat some good food and pay tribute to those who have passed. The jolly skeletons captured here by Flickr user borderfilms (Doug) in Chiapas, Mexico are a common Day of the Dead decorating theme.

Taken any great photos during your travels? Why not add them to the Gadling group on Flickr? We might just pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.

Monumental “mixup” – US Airways delivers casket instead of tropical fish

Sooner or later every passenger on an airline will run into some kind of issue with their luggage. But a recent blunder by US Airways makes everything I’ve ever endured look like a walk in the park.

When Northeast Philadelphia pet store owner Mark Arabia received a shipment of tropical fish, he knew something was wrong – instead of 3 boxes containing his shipment, the driver had been given a casket, containing the remains of 65 year old Jon Kenoyer.

Due to what US Airways called “an unfortunate mixup”, the casket was released to a driver, who loaded the box into his car, thinking he was transporting fish.

I’m sorry, but this is not a mixup – it is a blunder of epic proportions. I can understand an airline being sloppy with our personal baggage (and they are), but to actually release the remains of a deceased family member to the wrong driver is just a really sad case of incompetence.

US Airways picked up the coffin later that day, but the fish have still not been delivered, and have probably died by now due to a depleted oxygen supply.

All in all a disgraceful situation, and one that should make people think twice about sending a deceased relative with US Airways.


Check out these other stories from the airport checkpoint!