Saturday, March 31, 2012

The Commoner Loves To Fly

I do.  I love to fly.  I love everything about it (well not security-the middle seat-or Southwest) but everything else.  I love airports and all the people, great foods, and great shops.  I love the free wireless.  I love watching people.

Once in the air I love being in the air.  It's like escaping everything even if your going to a hockey event, or the same city you go to three times a year.

There are some parts of fling that I don't like.  I don't like that you can't use your Kindle for a real long time and thus have to read the in flight magazine.  

I don't like all the weirdo's you have to sit next to.  But usually I give off a 'don't talk to me vibe' so I do okay.

I love flying so much I interviewed for a job as a flight attendant recently.  The interview went so well that the human resources woman felt obliged to tell me that the pay would be about 20 dollars an hour.  I don't love to fly so much that I would give up eating-so I'm not a flight attendant.

I love flying so much if I don't fly every few months I start to go through withdrawals.

There's just one thing about flying that worries me and always has -the pilot.  The pilot carries our lives in our hand.  At best you get a Captain Sully who lands you on the water and saves your life from those birds in the engine.  At worst -well forget that.  But I always worry about the pilot.  

Every time I get on a plane I say hello and make eye contact with the pilot.  I have a really good sense about people and I'm pretty sure I could see crazy, depressed or distracted in their eyes.  I know on days when I have a lot going on I tend to get distracted and will misspell words on the white board.  Pilots have the ultimate white board.

Recently I flew Jet Blue with Commoner Kristen to New York.  That's nonstop across the country on a red-eye.  Our plane had been to Barbados, New York, Bahamas, all with just a 15 minute stop in each place. 

 Coming home on the 7 hour leg of the journey our attendant commented that this was a last minute 'shift' for her and she was so tired.  


So this week when a pilot snapped and started running up and down the aisles of a Jet Blue Flight screaming about Iran and bombs and totally freaking out-I'm not completely surprised.  This was probably is 4th flight of the day and he was traumatized.


So remember.  The next time you board a plane and the pilot and flight attendant are standing there reading a clip board or loading snacks-say good morning, make eye contact-and decide at that point if you should run back down the jet way screaming every one quick!  Run!


But really I LOVE FLYING