Air travel in the year 2011… it’s a crap shoot. Weather. Fees. Lack of customer service. Delays. It all makes leaving the basement a little bit harder, but worth it. And honestly, I do sort of live for the little bag of animal crackers.
It seems once things start to go wrong, they do so in a really big way. The more you bitch the worse it gets… the harder you pull the tighter it gets.
Like the man at the counter who asked the woman, “why did the later flight to LGA leave before us?” AND, he was nasty about it.
My answer? “Because it did.”
Really? I mean sir with the white hair and the white sweater at JetBlue gate 14 at PBI last night… did you really think that poor woman needed to be tortured by the likes of you?
Weather makes planes late. Period.
And when it does, it can do so with a vengeance. Here is my tale:
3 hour delay, 1 hour on runway, the worst turbulence – which is not an issue for me but others… yikes, circled JFK for 1 hour, (pilot talked of low fuel – why do they do that exactly?), diverted to Newark – oops no runway, circled some more, diverted to Dulles, circled some more (um about that low fuel comment?), turbulent landing (remind me why I am now in DC, again), hour and a half on ground IN hot cranky plane in DC, turbulent take-off, turbulent landing and finally landed at JFK around 2AM . Not bad for a 4PM flight from PBI. Oh and of course an hour for the bags to come out… on the wrong carousel.
And what did I learn? Basically, when it starts to go wrong you just have to roll with it. Coping makes it less unbearable – panic makes it worse and bitching just makes you… well, a bitch.
Yes, it is uncomfortable, yes it is an inconvenience, and for many it is traumatic.
And then its over.
i could cry but i don't have time 
Hi Amy,
I used to travel a lot for business, so I have my own horror stories, but yours was over-the-top bad. To cope with travel I kept my expectations low and my level of patience high. Mostly, I’d bury my head in a good book and let the chaos around me go unnoticed… and then, it’s over. 🙂
Ray
Ray, you are now on the short list of people I will agree to fly with. I never realized how many people truly suffer from anxiety while flying!
I had that good book myself, reading Patti Smith’s Just Kids and it kept me focused. Oh, did I mention my overhead light was broken.
You are my hero. And so right. I definitely would have been freaking out.
A shame Charlie Sheen wasn’t on your flight. 😉
Not gonna lie, J. I did watch one Charlie Sheen interview during the flight just for diversion sake.
Dalai Lama said pain is certain, suffering is optional! Sounds like you got that concept down!
I LOVE THIS…. t-shirt anyone?
Did someone say t-shirt? (May have to order this. Also have it in black.)
Damn, I am always late to the t-shirt party. Nice digging J!
Ray, your expectations are perfect. I will keep them in mind when i board my flight on Friday.
The airlines should post a sign at each gate…BE NICE. Certainly would make things alot easier… 🙂
I think the sign should read ‘Be less neurotic’ Safe travels Laurie
You are so right. Coping makes it easier. But it still sucks.
Glad you made it home (and glad there was enough fuel!)
The whole fuel comment was so ridiculous. What do they do in the cockpit? For entertainment they say, ‘Hey, we have a plane full of crying babies, anxious flyers and generally cranky people, let’s freak them out and tell them we are low on fuel and then fly for another couple of hours in a circle just to mess with their heads.’
Scary.
smelly toilets
thank god for forrest
and everybody loves raymond!
Thank you for the reminder.