Flying, part one
I meant to post this blog earlier in the week. It was written on December 30, 2011, on the outbound leg of my trip. For the younguns' I embedded a link to the Western Airlines birdie on youtube. Instead of champagne, he's getting pizza, but you'll get the idea.
My first experience with flying was as a boy flying to California aboard Western Airlines. Western Airlines is defunct. Delta took it over a couple of decades ago, but I digress.
My mother bought my sister and I new clothes for the flight. She insisted we dress up for the trip. Of course this was the decade of the ‘70’s. A little bird on the tail of the aircraft during TV commercials, holding a glass of champagne, assured us that Western Airlines was the oooonly way to fly. I have a good memory for dumb stuff.
People dressed up for the flight.
Today as I write this, I’m at 31,000 feet, headed to an undisclosed location. I ran away from home. I can’t say where. Aboard my flight, I’m noticing how much flying has changed since that first adventure with my mom and sister to California.
I’ve flown, quite frankly, more than most ever will in their lifetimes. Most of it was on “Guard Air”. I was thinking if the Air Force gave frequent flyer miles, I’d have my share. They go by hours, not miles. And only for aircrew members. Well, this retired mechanic has a bunch of “hours” trapped in the tube. The miles are more than I could ever count.
Anyway, the first thing that struck me as different was that past something to drink, you’re pretty much on your own up here. They “sell” snacks. They used to give them to you (part of the fare). They charged me $25 to check a bag. After I used the self-service check in kiosk, I had to wait in line to check my bag. What’s the point of self check-in if you’re still going to have to talk to a representative?
At the self check-in kiosk, I had choices. For $9 American (get it, American?) I could buy the privilege of boarding the aircraft early. Why? Were they going to leave without me? I guess I could watch as other people struggled to board with their families.
In front of me at the check-in was a family with three very small children. And all their stuff. Car seats, strollers etc.. As luck would have it, this poor man was a few people ahead of me boarding the jet. I watched as he struggled to organize his things… three kids, a wife, three carry-on bags, and a car seat. He was letting people go ahead of him. When it was my turn to board the aircraft, I stopped and asked him if I could help him. I swear, I watched 20 people board the jet without even offering to help this man. The man behind me also offered to help. We got him situated and I think he was just happy for someone empathizing with him and just being decent enough to offer him some common courtesy.
I wonder, did the people that passed him by think we were going to leave without him?
You know me. For those that have travelled with me before, this will surprise you. I’m wearing jeans and tennis shoes. I finally opted to join the masses and not dress up anymore. We learn, we grow. It used to bother me that people don’t dress for the occasion. Not anymore. The young woman seated next to me has jeans with stylish “holes” in them. The guy across the isle from me is wearing orange, black, and white sneakers. The guy in front of him is relaxing with his shoes off. As I write this, a young man wearing his hat backwards, a black tee-shirt and sweat pants is making his way back from the lavatory.
I wonder what the little Western Airlines birdie would think of this.
Times change. I get that. Here’s the most ironic thing about the trip… I don’t fly commercial much anymore, but I’ve always tried to have exact change for cocktails. I like a drink or two when I fly, well, because I CAN. What I forgot was that American Airlines does not accept cash on board anymore. That just cracks me up. American Airlines won’t take American money (or anyone else’s either for that matter).
I had the chance to post this blog FROM 31,000 feet. I can’t use my cell phone but apparently if I’m willing to pay a fee, I CAN surf the internet. Maybe the cell phone thing wouldn’t bother me so much if I hadn’t answered a cell phone call from a flight crew asking me what was wrong with their jet before. BTW, this is a GREAT thing because you can talk to the pilot and try to A) figure out what’s wrong, and B) figure out with them the best way to deal with it in a hurry. Technology ain’t always a bad thing.
The nice part of the flight has been that the flight attendant bought me a drink. A smile and a kind word, sometimes, will make someone’s day. I helped out a stranger and a stranger helped me out.
All good things come from God. Including this trip!
My first experience with flying was as a boy flying to California aboard Western Airlines. Western Airlines is defunct. Delta took it over a couple of decades ago, but I digress.
My mother bought my sister and I new clothes for the flight. She insisted we dress up for the trip. Of course this was the decade of the ‘70’s. A little bird on the tail of the aircraft during TV commercials, holding a glass of champagne, assured us that Western Airlines was the oooonly way to fly. I have a good memory for dumb stuff.
People dressed up for the flight.
Today as I write this, I’m at 31,000 feet, headed to an undisclosed location. I ran away from home. I can’t say where. Aboard my flight, I’m noticing how much flying has changed since that first adventure with my mom and sister to California.
I’ve flown, quite frankly, more than most ever will in their lifetimes. Most of it was on “Guard Air”. I was thinking if the Air Force gave frequent flyer miles, I’d have my share. They go by hours, not miles. And only for aircrew members. Well, this retired mechanic has a bunch of “hours” trapped in the tube. The miles are more than I could ever count.
Anyway, the first thing that struck me as different was that past something to drink, you’re pretty much on your own up here. They “sell” snacks. They used to give them to you (part of the fare). They charged me $25 to check a bag. After I used the self-service check in kiosk, I had to wait in line to check my bag. What’s the point of self check-in if you’re still going to have to talk to a representative?
At the self check-in kiosk, I had choices. For $9 American (get it, American?) I could buy the privilege of boarding the aircraft early. Why? Were they going to leave without me? I guess I could watch as other people struggled to board with their families.
In front of me at the check-in was a family with three very small children. And all their stuff. Car seats, strollers etc.. As luck would have it, this poor man was a few people ahead of me boarding the jet. I watched as he struggled to organize his things… three kids, a wife, three carry-on bags, and a car seat. He was letting people go ahead of him. When it was my turn to board the aircraft, I stopped and asked him if I could help him. I swear, I watched 20 people board the jet without even offering to help this man. The man behind me also offered to help. We got him situated and I think he was just happy for someone empathizing with him and just being decent enough to offer him some common courtesy.
I wonder, did the people that passed him by think we were going to leave without him?
You know me. For those that have travelled with me before, this will surprise you. I’m wearing jeans and tennis shoes. I finally opted to join the masses and not dress up anymore. We learn, we grow. It used to bother me that people don’t dress for the occasion. Not anymore. The young woman seated next to me has jeans with stylish “holes” in them. The guy across the isle from me is wearing orange, black, and white sneakers. The guy in front of him is relaxing with his shoes off. As I write this, a young man wearing his hat backwards, a black tee-shirt and sweat pants is making his way back from the lavatory.
I wonder what the little Western Airlines birdie would think of this.
Times change. I get that. Here’s the most ironic thing about the trip… I don’t fly commercial much anymore, but I’ve always tried to have exact change for cocktails. I like a drink or two when I fly, well, because I CAN. What I forgot was that American Airlines does not accept cash on board anymore. That just cracks me up. American Airlines won’t take American money (or anyone else’s either for that matter).
I had the chance to post this blog FROM 31,000 feet. I can’t use my cell phone but apparently if I’m willing to pay a fee, I CAN surf the internet. Maybe the cell phone thing wouldn’t bother me so much if I hadn’t answered a cell phone call from a flight crew asking me what was wrong with their jet before. BTW, this is a GREAT thing because you can talk to the pilot and try to A) figure out what’s wrong, and B) figure out with them the best way to deal with it in a hurry. Technology ain’t always a bad thing.
The nice part of the flight has been that the flight attendant bought me a drink. A smile and a kind word, sometimes, will make someone’s day. I helped out a stranger and a stranger helped me out.
All good things come from God. Including this trip!
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