Flying is for the birds...

On the radio this morning the DJs were talking about how American Airlines is considering removing the pillows from most of their flights (excluding the overseas flights) to cut costs in their budget. Of course since I travel a lot with my job, I listened intently to their conversation. Then I started thinking about those little white pillows and what this would actually mean...

First of all, to call them pillows is an overstatement--they are more like hairballs with fabric thrown over them, or an oversized marshmallow puff flatened out like a pancake. It seems like to get the full effect of using them you have to grab two or three to equal the size of one small pillow. And the only people that actually use the small puffs are those seated next to the window. Where will the middle man and the outside aisle man put the small cotton ball to serve its purpose?

Flights in general all seem to be about the same. You always end up sitting next to the most annoying person on the flight, whether it be the crying baby, the overly talkative business man who speaks of nothing but stocks and bonds, the kid who has done everything you have and more, the hypochondriac who has every sickness known to man and insists on breathing down your neck to ensure you receive some of the same ailments...I've sat next to them all. And as much of a people person as I am, sometimes I would just like a quiet, restful flight--is that too much to ask?

The last flight that I took, I happened to end up sitting in the emergency exit row. The stewardess began giving the instructions on what we should do in case of an emergency and told us to read the brochure in the backseat pocket, and let her know if we didn't think we were capable of handling this responsibility. I don't know what it was about what she said or the way she said it, but it struck me funny, so I chuckled to myself. She didn't find it funny at all and then preceded to embarass me in front of everyone, "This ISN'T a joke, MAM. If you can't handle the responsibility we will MOVE you.".....I KNOW this woman did NOT just say this to me, so I said the first thing that popped into my mind. "I wasn't LAUGHING at YOU, MAM. I KNOW it isn't a joke." I'm not a confrontational person, but I sure felt better afterwards. She snubbed me the rest of the flight, so whenever I wanted a drink or some extra peanuts, I had the teenage kid next to me get them for me. :) It was fun.

It should be another interesting flight when I go to Houston this weekend. Maybe for once I will have a quiet, restful flight where I can read my magazine and nap one last time on the little puffs of fluff before they take them away.