3 a.m. Chicago O’Hare.
Please post your favorite photos
on the theme of “Pleasures of Air Travel”
and post a link in the comments of this site.
Time period: Sept. 5- Sept. 30, 2019
Here’s a poem I wrote about air travel a year and a half ago. Seems appropriate, so I’m reblogging it. Complain, complain.
Open Letter to the Airline Mucky-Mucks:
Open Letter to the Airline Mucky-Mucks
To Whom It May Concern:
My carry-on’s too heavy to lift above my seat,
so I had to put it under, now there’s no room for my feet.
I request some water (though I’ve been twice rebuffed,)
to take an antihistamine, for my eyes are puffed
from the perfume of my seatmate, which also made me cough.
So I’m already hurting long before lift off.
I’ve squeeze marks from the narrow seats, I’m shivering from the draft,
and when this ride is over, I must board another craft!
Two hours later, two states up, I face another battle
trying to find a decent airport meal here in Seattle.
On my muffuletta sandwich (priced $15.93),
I look in vain for olives, which there don’t seem to be.
My Tim’s potato chips are stale, the sodas are all flat.
The Wifi that they advertise does not know where I’m at.
Air travel’s an adventure but not the one I sought.
I forget this lesson once again, refusing to be taught.
One hour left ‘til I lift off to wing my way on east,
I buy a drink and steel myself to board your winged beast.
I hope this time my seat mate fits in his own seat
so I don’t have to deal again with the impossible feat
of leaning out into the aisle, avoiding every ass
of passengers and stewards that brush me as they pass.
I bitch, I whine, I grouse, I cry, complain and moan and sigh.
‘Til by now I’m sure you wonder why I even fly.
I must admit I’ve asked myself the same as I’ve been talking.
The only reason I have found is that it sure beats walking.
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
Ah, yes — I used to have to fly somewhere in California every week, then changed jobs and flew to Denver or farther almost every month. It’s no fun any more! Love the guy wrapped in blanket — and the girl next, with her mirror and two neck pillows! Great captures!
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I just couldn’t resist.. Still don’t know if it was a guy or gal wrapped up in that blanket. I can’t stand air travel anymore.
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It looks pretty comfortable, isolated from the hubbub around the terminal! Last time I flew was on the way to the Arctic on a quick trip to see polar bears — and before that, to the Antarctic. They were vastly different flights — Air Canada, and LAN Chile — with very different service levels! It’s one of the things that kept me from doing much travel since!
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A quick trip to see polar bears! I love it, Janet!!!!
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It was 6 days, including 3 travel days (1-1/2 days each way), and 3 days on the tundra — and we DID see some polar bears waiting for ice to form on Hudson Bay.
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Used to be so thrilling. I remember the first flight I ever took. Nylons, heels, all dressed up. Sat in the smoking section! Don’t miss the smoke. Quit years ago. But at the time it was always the funnest part of the airplane.
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I was about 8 years old for my first flight — a DC3 from LA to Boston — such service, such comfort. Yes — everybody dressed up, and it was almost party time! No more! Living in Sacramento, I flew to SoCal (in jets) on business — walking into an airplane was almost like walking into the office!Oh, the stories I could tell!
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I took a flight from Hawaii once that had the pub up at the top of a circular staircase. We had to overfly Denver and land in Puebla in an airport that didn’t have stairs high enough to get up to the airplane door, so we spent the night there. The stewardesses got so tired that they just opened the bar and put food out and let folks come get it. I happened to have on a pants suit the same color as the stewardesses and people thought I was a stewardess and would order things as I walked by, so I just started delivering drinks and food. Fun. The next morning the weather in Denver was better so we flew on.. Loooong flight.
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Nowadays, they’d tip you out into an empty airport for the night! The first time I flew to Alaska, we tried to land 3 times, then flew on to Sitka for fuel. Watched a Russian plane come in and leave, then flew back to Juneau, where we joined the top of the stack, and circled again — I think it took us aboaut 3 or 4 hours just to land! Again — oh, the stories fliers could tell!
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So tell them! We’re waiting.
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And was I just skinnier or were the seats bigger back then? Both, I guess.
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Lol! Seems very tough journey. I had better luck.
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I don’t even want to comment on what air travel is nowadays!
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I dug out my flying pictures. Since we so rarely travel, I just got lucky. I love the way they take away brand new products they JUST SOLD YOU and after they take them away, they will sell you the same product IN the departure area because apparently they are legal as long as you buy them from the “right” vendor!
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So are you going to post them and send me a link????
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Don’t you love the “free wifi” that isn’t free and also doesn’t work?
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One of the many pleasures of air travel today, Marilyn.
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Pingback: FROM OUR MOST RECENT “FLIGHT” EXPERIENCE TO ARIZONA – Marilyn Armstrong – Serendipity Seeking Intelligent Life on Earth
Loved it…so clever
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You just write about the pleasures of travelling in your motor home with your dogs and cat.. Lucky you. I love traveling in our motor home with Bob driving. have you seen the new ‘Little Homes” made entirely of recycled plastic? They are gorgeous.. Some have th erounded forms of adobe homes.
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I haven’t seen them. I’ll have to google them.
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I don’t think I could do the long flight from the UK to Australia again in one hit. 24 hours is a long time to be on a plane. I’m lucky because at least I usually fall asleep on a flight. Wi-Fi at Sydney & Melbourne airports where I’ve sometimes had to wait several hours for a connection does at least work but flying is my least favourite means of travel. I still have unpleasant memories of our flight back to Australia from Singapore and in particular some very unhelpful Jetstar staff in Melbourne.
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Yes.. I’ve done that flight to Australia three times now and wouldn’t want to repeat it. The first time I was actually put off the plane in Hawaii because the man in the seat next to me stole my wallet and passport, and they didn’t want to confront him about it. That plane also stopped in Fiji as I recall it. The second time I don’t recall any stops…just a direct flight from Mexico to Adelaide. A killer.
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OMG Mexico to Adelaide, didn’t even know there was a direct flight! I can’t get a direct flight to Adelaide from Hobart that’s why I always seem to end up spending half a day in Melbourne or Sydney airport.
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Perhaps I had to change planes somewhere.. can’t remember. Just knew it was a looooong flight. And I was seated next to a BIG guy who was the manager of a rock band also aboard.
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By the time you have been on a plane that long you can be forgiven for not remembering where you got on.
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I am currently sitting in the airport in Little Rock, Arkansas trying to fly into Chicago. Flying is so much fun, isn’t it. I just wrote a blog about my current experience actually.
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Admittedly, not every aspect of traveling by air is fantastic, but for the most part, it’s a pretty great experience. Thanks for sharing!
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The latest story at LAX is that they’ve moved the pickup lanes for Uber, Lyft, and taxis to a spot 2 blocks away from the arrivals — people had to wait for 2 hours for uber pickups — they’ve quickly expanded the pickup area, but there are many who have said they won’t fly into LAX again!
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Good grief. The “pleasures” of air travel have mainly vanished, I believe.
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