Thoughts on Flying

It's going to be very funny to watch me carting a giant cardboard box around JFK this Sunday. If you would like some entertainment, come and see. Tickets are free and food is available, though not cheap. The show probably won't be long so be there on time and get good seats. Oh, and my bike is in that box. Poor Milo.

It's almost go-time. Wow. I have been thinking of the flight ahead and how it will be the longest time I've ever spent on a plane in one straight stretch. I hope it's going to be comfortable. I remember the flights we used to take to Hawaii for swimming and they were anything but comfortable, crammed into those seats like the stereotypical sardine. Blech. I think that if you plan to travel any further than six hours on a plane, there should be some prize at the end. Yes, I know that reaching one's destination should be considered the prize but no, it's not. There should be a sweet prize to instill temporary happiness, kind of like on the Price is Right:

"Here Ms. Knapp, thank you for flying with us and good job on making it 25 plus hours without having a meltdown. Please enjoy this new Prius* for your efforts. And please come fly with us again."

That airline would do such great business too. (By the way...Did you know you get a tax write off if you buy a 'green' vehicle? Just another reason to go hybrid.)

Or they could even have competitions, like gameshows to make time pass more quickly. Like who can eat the most peanuts. Or who can drink the most tiny cups of soda without having to pee. They could have a special "quiet child" section of the plane to see which children can keep their mouths shut the longest and then give them lots of candy when they get off the plane. There could be grand prizes and parting gifts. Of course the parting gifts would be things like a year's supply of airline peanuts or a duck.

Duck is a fun word. Not as in "there's a tree, duck!" but as in the animal. I wonder how it got it's name. Maybe because it's so small that it looks like it's always bending over, so they named it after the verb 'to duck'. Or maybe 'to duck' was named after the duck that is always hunched over. Then again, ducks aren't really hunched over so, who knows? Baby ducks are cute, I know that much.

I am rambling tonight. I think it is nerves...good nerves. I am excited. I want to play the peanut game on the plane. Maybe I will ask a flight attendant if we can start a game and everyone will like it so much that I'll get to meet the captain. He'll congratulate me and then let me fly the plane. That would be pretty cool.

-NMK

*Inspired by J.