‘NCIS’ actor fan of trips via RV
Fans of the CBS crime procedural “NCIS” know Brian Dietzen as Dr. Jimmy Palmer. An avid fan of road trips, Dietzen says, “When we were growing up, my dad and mom wanted us to explore the United States. Our family went to Yellowstone and all these different national parks. We went out to California every now and again, and we returned to the Midwest to visit with our cousins. Those trips were so much fun for us.” The Los Angeles-based actor is currently finishing up a documentary about the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team, which pairs children with veteran athletes who share the same injuries.
An edited version of our conversation follows.
A: Yes. My dad grew up in the Midwest and went to the University of Chicago for a while. We had a lot of relatives in the Chicago area. I have a bunch of family that still lives there. When I was about 8, my dad moved us out to Colorado. I was sad to leave, but Colorado is great, too, especially for the outdoor life. He wanted us kids to be raised somewhere that on weekends we could go hiking or skiing and stay active. I remember we didn’t have a baseball team at the time so we continued to watch the Chicago Cubs on WGN. Once we got the Colorado Rockies, I couldn’t change teams, so I remained a Cubs fan. I’ve been gradually moving westward and am in Los Angeles now. I joke that maybe I’ll retire in Hawaii or Japan. (Laughs)
A: We went to Hawaii for our honeymoon. We also went for a family trip with my parents and brother and his family. I’ve never been to Japan. I’m not much of an international traveler. It has only been within the last three years that I’ve been to Europe.
A: My wife and I take our children, who are 8 and 10, to visit national parks. We really enjoy that. My favorite trip that I’ve ever taken was this past summer. We rented an RV and took a monthlong trip, which was amazing. The kids slept so well. We got a bunch of books on tape and listened to Harry Potter on the road. We visited Yellowstone, the Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain National Park, visited family in Colorado and took our time going through Utah before heading back to L.A. We got to play it by ear. If we went to a place where we thought we might spend four nights and it didn’t turn out to be that great, we could pick up and drive to a different place.
A: Yes, we’ve done a lot of that and really enjoy it. But there were a few times when we pulled up in our RV and it was raining hard. And I was thinking how glad I was that we don’t have to play with poles and set up a tarp and try to stay dry. It was nice being able to just fall asleep after having cooked a nice dinner inside the RV.
A: I’ve been to Canada and Mexico. I went to Monte Carlo and South Africa two years ago, but I would love to travel internationally a little bit more. I would love to go to Scotland and golf at St. Andrews. My daughter is a big fan of mythology and Greek everything. I studied Greek history in college. We would love to go to the Greek islands and visit some of the ruins.
QA: British Airways shouldn’t have made you wait nearly four months for a refund. But let’s take a closer look at why that wasn’t allowed.
Even though you’re located in Cairo, you made your purchase through an American online travel agency for a flight to the United States. The Department of Transportation has two relevant rules.
First, the 24-hour rule, which says that under most circumstances, if you book a ticket and cancel within 24 hours, you’re entitled to a full refund. You can find details on that rule in the department’s Fly Rights brochure, which is available on the dot.gov website:
The second DOT rule says that when a refund is due, the airline must forward a credit to your card company “within seven business days” after receiving a complete refund application. “However,” it notes, “the credit may take a month or two to appear on your statement.”
You were well past that two-month mark. It was time for action. I publish the names, numbers and email addresses for the executives at Expedia and British Airways on my consumer-advocacy site: and
You could have reached out to one of them and cleared this up. Instead, you contacted me. And I agree with you, you’ve been more than patient.
This foot-dragging with refunds is endemic to airlines and online travel agencies, and it’s absolutely infuriating. I got in touch with Expedia, which asked British Airways about your refund. The airline claimed that a refund had been processed back in July, which still would have meant that it didn’t follow the DOT requirement of a seven-day refund.
I have a better idea: If the government gives us 24 hours to cancel a ticket, it should give airlines the same amount of time to refund the money. No exceptions. If they fail, they should face stiff fines, perhaps doubling the refund. That should fix the problem of sluggish refunds permanently. But one step at a time. You’ve received your refund.