The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Flying the friendly skies. Not.

Aisle seat 9C. Along comes the man seated in aisle seat 9D with his backpack on. As he gets to his seat, he turns in the aisle...and Whaapp- The backpack hits me full face. Not even an apology. 

I have decided that air travel these days is the great social equalizer. Most flights are now regional planes with no first class.  A big bus with wings. The rich, the poor.  The proud, the humble. The clean and not-so-clean. Doesn't matter your race, social standing or IQ. We huddle together as one mass, a herd of cattle.  Fed peanuts or pretzels and a small cup of soda as if it is nectar and life-sustaining. Brought into a small, cramped area with stringent nonsenical rules which most of us would not normaly tolerate. One flight the rule is window shades up. Next flight the rule is window shades down. Really? Does the pilot need to see out the side windows to back up the plane? Or are we instructed to lower the shades so the illumination doesn't light up the night sky?

I am a big girl. The bathrooms on the plane are very small. Several fights ago, the knob fell off the door after I locked it.  I shook the door, hollared for assistance and panicked for a hot minute.  I finally realized that this was it.  I was on my own. Macgyver time.  I stooped down and picked up the knob off the bathroom floor...Ewwww, by the way...placed it in the slide handle and jimmied the door open.  I don't lock the door in an airplane restroom anymore. If someone busts in, so be it.  That is the lesser of two evils!

Long unexplained delays.  I consider it a test of my patience. Most of the time, I pass.  Some of the time I fail miserably.  No point complaining.  I would rather be down here wishing I was up there, than up there wishing I was down here! I have to admit, though, short of the circus, I can't imagine a more entertaining specter of the human race than in an airport. Wow.

Side bar.  If I had the money, I would set up a kiosk in airports that sell baby supplies. Diapers, wipes, formula, medicine, cute touristy stuff.  I never see baby stuff for sale. What if you have a long layover and need supplies? Or a kiosk where you can rent a small cot enclosed in a private room by the hour. Single rentals only! LOL...anyway...

I titled this post The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.  My air travel this week from Baton Rouge, LA to Greensboro, NC took me 16 hours. Not because of weather. Not because of a national threat.  But because of mechanical issues on not one, but two of my flights. The airline compensated me for my time with $14 in a meal voucher. I was pushed, walked miles, had gate changes, ignored and treated rudely. This was one of the times where I passed the test.  I remained calm, polite and caring towards others. On the last flight of the evening, we soared high in the sky. I watched the extravagant sunset glint across the purple colored clouds. The beauty of it caused tears to come to my eyes. I was able to sigh, rest my head and watch one of the most glorious sights in my life. Maybe, just maybe, the skies are friendly after all.

My Test "Blog"

It all started with Facebook a year ago. Now, I have been encouraged by many people to expand my "status updates" into a full fledged blog. We'll see. I find it difficult to believe that others are interested in my life. I, on the other hand, absolutely love my life. It took me a very long time to get here.

I will be the first to admit that I am, well, quirky. Some call might call it crazy. Cuckoo for cocoa puffs. A handful of nails and no hammer. Whatever---This blog is about perspective. My perspective to be exact.

So, here we are.  I hope you find my life as funny, exhilerating and enchanting as I do!