"GERRY":Many life events interfere with our leisure activities.  If I book a vacation and there's a cancellation fee, I can't go to the travel agent and ask for a refund because my boss decided to send me on a business trip instead.  In most cases it's the same if I'm sick.  Games just aren't that important, are they?  And how do you measure the inconvenience to other players from granting extra time to the occasional unfortunate?  Sometimes, the ball just bounces the wrong way, in games and in life.  We're better off learning to deal with this reality than constantly asking for the world to take our burdens off our shoulders.