Flying High
I’ve taken three plane trips in the last few months and have another scheduled this month and two so far in 2020.
I don’t mind flying but I don’t love it either.
Credit: Ross Parmly unsplash.com
The seats are tight. The air in the cabin too chilly to suit me. (even when I turn off the air jet above my head). The snacks are not my favorite and the bathrooms so tiny one can barely move more than a few inches.
Okay. Enough complaining. Actually I’m really grateful for this zippy way of getting from one place to another in just a few hours. I do enjoy watching the plane sail above the clouds and then descend ever so smoothly to the city below, land with a slight thud, cruise into the parking space and then release passengers into the terminal in short order.
I’m in awe of the pilots who know what to do with those complicated-looking dashboards filled with all kinds of buttons and lights and thingamagigs. And I so appreciate the flight attendants who have to announce the same tiresome instructions to passengers who don’t pay attention. Yet they remain cheerful and helpful and kind and ready to serve us no matter what.
Photo by Suhyeon Choi on Unsplash
On my latest trip I decided to focus my thoughts on these professionals with greater appreciation and respect than ever before. They perform services that I cannot. They care about me and every person on the flight, regardless of behavior. They are willing to risk their lives to save ours in a pending disaster.
So if the seats are too cramped, I can walk the aisle once or twice to stretch. If it’s too cold in the cabin I can pull on a hoodie. If I don’t like the snacks, I can bring my own. If the bathroom is too small, I can take care of business before boarding.
It’s not all about me and my preferences.
So I’m going to pay attention to the greater good. Aren’t we blessed to live in an era when we can fly high and be grateful for it?
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” (Henry Ford)
I love your positive thinking.
Thanks, Janet. 🙂
Flying isn’t what it used to be- it was pleasurable then & now it’s just a convenience.
Really like your positive attitude!
Rosemarie
Thanks, Rosemarie. Good to hear from you.
Love it, Karen. What a great attitude. I often think about the fact that we just get on a plane and trust that the pilot is competent and will get us there without me ever having met him or her! That’s a lot of trust. Having a Captain Pilot as a nephew, I have a greater appreciation for the aircraft and the people who keep it in the air for us. Thanks for the reminder. What a privilege. Flying is not my favorite thing to do either 🙁
Thanks, Heidi. I can imagine you are more conscious of the blessing of flying with Barry as a pilot. Good reminder.
I had always said I would never get in an airplane. Then when I was 50 years old I had the opportunity to fly to London England with some students and a Professor from Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, Ky. I actually could not believe myself as I sat in the front of the plane as it took off from Lexington, Ky. The trip was awesome and no more FEAR from me! I was hooked. After I moved to Florida I made several trips via plane to Kentucky and loved it. Then my second husband and I flew to Hawaii on our Honeymoon! We had quiet an experience when the plane landed in Chicago and had a problem so we had a choice to either stay in Chicago until the plane was fixed or we could get on another plane and meet them in Ca. They assused us that plane WOULD go to Hawaii. We stayed, went in the airport, had a great meal – their treat- then got back on the plane when it was ready to fly. We were two of the few people that stayed with that plane and we were given the Royal treatment with food and all the macadama nuts we could hold and when we picked up the other passengers in Ca. the attendants changed and the new ones asked me and my husband a lot of questions and we showed them them some napkins they had given to us and when we landed in Hawaii they said they would out do them and they did! Since we were newly weds they gave us the royal treatment also and our arms were full of flowers from the VIP section of the plane, more napkins, etc. It was great and the huge bouquet of flowers stayed pretty the whole week we were there. We made one more trip to Hawaii with my brother and sister-in-law which was awesome.
Now I am not longer able to fly but thankful I have known the thrill of watching the beautiful white clouds and ‘floating above them’
Thanks for reminding me of the thrill!
Margaret
Hi Margaret. What a wonderful story of your flying and honeymoon experience. Sweet memories to last . . .
My first experience on a plane was when I flew to Hawaii for a dental assistant convention. This was back in 1963. Here I am, first plane flight an over the ocean. Yikes. I sat with my seat belt on the whole way, however, on the flight home I was Experienced and walked up and down the aisle and hardly sat down. My son and his family live in Juneau and I was flying up there at least once a year. I love to get on the plane and while we are taking off, it’s like I’m leaving all my cares and worries behind me for just a little while, I get an awwwwwwwwwwww feeling and I feel my whole body relaxing. I haven’t been up there in 3 years, only because I have to work to subsidize my SS. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted and I wouldn’t change a moment of it. God has been good to me and I am blessed.
Thanks, Judi. I can relate to your feeling of awwww, and leaving all cares behind at least for the time being. What a miracle it is to fly.