I flew north over the weekend to see my two oldest grandsons graduate from high school. It reminded me why I don’t like flying – other people, which is the same reason I don’t much enjoy driving. I got a double-dose on this trip. I drove from Washington to Baltimore to get the plane to Hartford, drove from Hartford two hours further north to where the kids live, and did the same on the return. This gave me the “joy” of plane and car travel all in one trip! I am blessed.
On the plane, well, of course you get jostled by folks moving toward their seats, bumping into you, slapping their carry-ons against you. That, nowadays, goes without saying. Worse, you get the person who’s in the seat behind you who always needs – whether young or older – to grab onto the top of your seat to help them ease their way down into their seat. This, of course, means they are pulling the back of your seat about five inches and jolting you. I really don’t know why they need to do that when the plane is on the ground and stable (I don’t really know why they’d need to do it if it were in the air. But there you go.) Then again, when they do it, can’t they say, “Excuse me” or something that at least acknowledges they are disturbing you in a really annoying and physical way? Do they think I didn’t notice?
A woman behind me today kept putting things in and taking things out of that seat back where they keep the air safety card that no one ever takes out when the flight attendant asks us to. The woman behind me must have had man-hands because she dug her knuckles into my back each time she pulled something out, or put it back.
And, of course, there also is always that guy who is carrying one bag, and has a computer bag or briefcase slung over his shoulder so that when he pivots to look for room in the bin opposite you, slams you in the head with his bag. More joy.
Also, have you noticed that each time you get on a plane, the plane seems smaller – you have less leg room and your knees are coming closer to the back of the seat ahead of you? And those bins ARE smaller; the flight attendant admitted it on my flight today. (I tried to figure out why they would make the bins smaller when that gives the passenger no more room –unless you are seven-feet tall and you get more headroom while you get less leg room.)
It goes without saying that when you’re driving on major highways you always get those folks who swerve in and out of your lane so they can pass whoever is ahead of them that they feel is going too slow to meet their needs, even if it is
within the speed limit. Actually, I don’t know why our taxpayer dollars are wasted on speed-limit signs when most drivers seem to view them as suggestions, and not the law.
To make if even more fun, there were major thunderstorms in the Northeast this weekend so I drove parts of the way in conditions that in a snowstorm would be considered “white-out." That way, though, I really didn’t even see the cars swerving in and out of my lane because I couldn’t see five feet in front of me.
I have to say that in a weird way the travails of travel were worth it though. I got to see a significant milestone for the two 18-year-olds and got to be with all my grandchildren. Still.
On the plane, well, of course you get jostled by folks moving toward their seats, bumping into you, slapping their carry-ons against you. That, nowadays, goes without saying. Worse, you get the person who’s in the seat behind you who always needs – whether young or older – to grab onto the top of your seat to help them ease their way down into their seat. This, of course, means they are pulling the back of your seat about five inches and jolting you. I really don’t know why they need to do that when the plane is on the ground and stable (I don’t really know why they’d need to do it if it were in the air. But there you go.) Then again, when they do it, can’t they say, “Excuse me” or something that at least acknowledges they are disturbing you in a really annoying and physical way? Do they think I didn’t notice?
A woman behind me today kept putting things in and taking things out of that seat back where they keep the air safety card that no one ever takes out when the flight attendant asks us to. The woman behind me must have had man-hands because she dug her knuckles into my back each time she pulled something out, or put it back.
And, of course, there also is always that guy who is carrying one bag, and has a computer bag or briefcase slung over his shoulder so that when he pivots to look for room in the bin opposite you, slams you in the head with his bag. More joy.
Also, have you noticed that each time you get on a plane, the plane seems smaller – you have less leg room and your knees are coming closer to the back of the seat ahead of you? And those bins ARE smaller; the flight attendant admitted it on my flight today. (I tried to figure out why they would make the bins smaller when that gives the passenger no more room –unless you are seven-feet tall and you get more headroom while you get less leg room.)
It goes without saying that when you’re driving on major highways you always get those folks who swerve in and out of your lane so they can pass whoever is ahead of them that they feel is going too slow to meet their needs, even if it is
within the speed limit. Actually, I don’t know why our taxpayer dollars are wasted on speed-limit signs when most drivers seem to view them as suggestions, and not the law.
To make if even more fun, there were major thunderstorms in the Northeast this weekend so I drove parts of the way in conditions that in a snowstorm would be considered “white-out." That way, though, I really didn’t even see the cars swerving in and out of my lane because I couldn’t see five feet in front of me.
I have to say that in a weird way the travails of travel were worth it though. I got to see a significant milestone for the two 18-year-olds and got to be with all my grandchildren. Still.
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