December 7, 2016

I oughtta grab a box of steaks while I'm here

Here I am in former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning's favorite city, as least when it comes to snap count cadence. It is cold, temperatures in the 20s and wind chills around 10 or 11.

My flight in yesterday was typically boring. On the leg from Chicago I had the seat hog asshole next to me. He wasn't satisfied with part of the armrest, he needed it all and also part of my seat space for his elbow. I took my space when he reached for his drink but when he put his arm against mine he wins; I don't like to be touched and it weirded me out after a while. I nearly smarted off to him, but what is the point. The new, more polite me sucked it up. It was a short flight and experience tells me you cannot shame assholes. They are who they are. He knew he was being a selfish jerk and did not care.

For a good part of my life I flew a lot. I was boarding a plane between 100 and 130 times a year, every year, for a period of more than six or seven years. In my last job I flew every three or four weeks. Now, not so much, a few times a year. I don't miss it. Flying has become  crowded, uncomfortable and inconvenient. Even if I was back in top frequent flyer status with free first class upgrades on EVERY trip, I still would not want to be back in the commercial airways every week. The free miles are nice, but but not worth it in the post 9/11 squeeze every cent out of the passengers, cram 'em in airline mentality.  At this point in my life I have around 1,000 commercial flights under my belt. It quit being an adventure a long time ago. It is a necessary evil to avoid driving more than 9 hours each way to do my job. 

So it goes, life on the road ain't the fun you imagine it to be. Work travel isn't vacation travel. But it is my life and I'm used to it. 

2 comments:

  1. I just can't do the flying thing. I've flown twice in my life. To my dad's funeral and back from it. My sister heckled me with crash stories to keep herself from panicking. lol

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  2. As a retired Pilot I refuse to fly if I can drive.


    James Old Guy

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