I love the feeling of flying. My first trip as a child was a small 2
seater flown out of LaFleur in Northampton, MA. There was no door, only a
cargo net across the opening. I hung on to it as we took off and
circled Noho. Dipping our wings while going over my aunt's house much to
the horror of my mother who saw her child clinging to a net while
looking down from a plane (I think my dad sorta forgot to tell her what
we were going to do). I love the old passenger jets, the pressure as the
engines roar while you go down the runway, ever faster, your body
pressing against the seat and then, you are free from the ground,
Gaining altitude and watching the landscape beneath you become a
glorious patchwork of colors. I even enjoy the jolt of landing, the
relief of having flown among the clouds and having descended safely back
to earth.
As I grow older (a term which I understand is not quite PC) I understand that although I love technology and the advancements of the past 150 years or so I also realize that it really is my choice whether or not I go with or without these advantages.
One thing I made a decision to go without is flying. Now don't get me wrong I use to love to fly. Pop in a plane in CT and be somewhere else entirely within a few hours but that was back in the day of direct flights and airlines that actually didn't see their passengers as paying cattle.
My last flight was out to our niece's wedding. The flight out wasn't bad although it required 2 plane changes. The flight home was a disaster, from the flight attendant who was extraordinarily rude, to the layovers and finally JFK airport otherwise known as the land of the rude. Oh not the people flying in and out of JFK but those people associated with airlines. One poor woman was asleep on the floor as her flights kept getting canceled. While we sat there in terror that our short 'commuter' flight from JFK to Bradley would be canceled, two other flights got canceled, not enough personnel to fly the planes. So there were 100's of people scrambling to book new flights and wondering how the hell they were going to make connecting flights.
I admit I grew up in a time when flying was a luxury and passengers were treated well. There was leg room and butt room. You were not herded into a plane, strapped into place and ignored, except for the occasional small bags of peanuts thrown at you. I remember enjoying flying. Now flying means migraines and I am just not willing to go there.
I would like to fly, but I have gotten to a point in life where the 2 hours drive to the airport (which I must be to at least 2 hours before my flight), then going through the TSA (which at best is not very efficient) all for a flight of about 2 hours (depending on whether I am going south or west) plus those who insist carrying on luggage that was not meant to be carried on in it's original design, trying to fit my well rounded butt into a seat meant to hold a 3 year old, the lack of civility among the flight attendants, well my theory is if I can't drive there then I guess I am not going.
Does this effect my life? For the most part no but (yep there is a but) I have missed out on stuff. Going to VA for a couple of days to see my son, going to FL to see my brother, little trips that probably the average person would say no problem to but I emotionally and physically just can't do any more.
Migraines are a reality of my life and have been since I was 16. Stress and migraines go hand in hand in my world and flying just stresses me out. So now that I have hit the age of maturity, being able to make the decision whether or not to fly, I chose not to.
Some do not understand this and that is okay. We all have the right to chose what we do in and with our lives. I will take a train or a car, but planes no longer are a possibility (unless it's a private plane that someone else pays for). I will miss out on stuff and that is the price I have to pay for my decision which is not always easy to accept.
We should all be allowed our quirks and idiosyncrasy's as long as they don't hurt someone else. I don't think the airlines are at all offended by my lack of flyer miles, as for my family no one has ever mentioned being upset that I haven't flown in for the weekend to see them. So maybe, just maybe this quirk works out, most of the time.
As I grow older (a term which I understand is not quite PC) I understand that although I love technology and the advancements of the past 150 years or so I also realize that it really is my choice whether or not I go with or without these advantages.
One thing I made a decision to go without is flying. Now don't get me wrong I use to love to fly. Pop in a plane in CT and be somewhere else entirely within a few hours but that was back in the day of direct flights and airlines that actually didn't see their passengers as paying cattle.
My last flight was out to our niece's wedding. The flight out wasn't bad although it required 2 plane changes. The flight home was a disaster, from the flight attendant who was extraordinarily rude, to the layovers and finally JFK airport otherwise known as the land of the rude. Oh not the people flying in and out of JFK but those people associated with airlines. One poor woman was asleep on the floor as her flights kept getting canceled. While we sat there in terror that our short 'commuter' flight from JFK to Bradley would be canceled, two other flights got canceled, not enough personnel to fly the planes. So there were 100's of people scrambling to book new flights and wondering how the hell they were going to make connecting flights.
I admit I grew up in a time when flying was a luxury and passengers were treated well. There was leg room and butt room. You were not herded into a plane, strapped into place and ignored, except for the occasional small bags of peanuts thrown at you. I remember enjoying flying. Now flying means migraines and I am just not willing to go there.
I would like to fly, but I have gotten to a point in life where the 2 hours drive to the airport (which I must be to at least 2 hours before my flight), then going through the TSA (which at best is not very efficient) all for a flight of about 2 hours (depending on whether I am going south or west) plus those who insist carrying on luggage that was not meant to be carried on in it's original design, trying to fit my well rounded butt into a seat meant to hold a 3 year old, the lack of civility among the flight attendants, well my theory is if I can't drive there then I guess I am not going.
Does this effect my life? For the most part no but (yep there is a but) I have missed out on stuff. Going to VA for a couple of days to see my son, going to FL to see my brother, little trips that probably the average person would say no problem to but I emotionally and physically just can't do any more.
Migraines are a reality of my life and have been since I was 16. Stress and migraines go hand in hand in my world and flying just stresses me out. So now that I have hit the age of maturity, being able to make the decision whether or not to fly, I chose not to.
Some do not understand this and that is okay. We all have the right to chose what we do in and with our lives. I will take a train or a car, but planes no longer are a possibility (unless it's a private plane that someone else pays for). I will miss out on stuff and that is the price I have to pay for my decision which is not always easy to accept.
We should all be allowed our quirks and idiosyncrasy's as long as they don't hurt someone else. I don't think the airlines are at all offended by my lack of flyer miles, as for my family no one has ever mentioned being upset that I haven't flown in for the weekend to see them. So maybe, just maybe this quirk works out, most of the time.
