I was 17 the first time I flew in a commercial jet. Flying was too expensive for my family, and because I never flew, I imagined growing up that commercial aviation was wildly dangerous, with airline crashes every day or two.
My adult children find this pretty remarkable. All four of them flew when they were still infants and grew up thinking that flying was a pretty normal aspect of life.
And flying is a normal part of life now. People fly regularly, not as easily as they drive, and they have mostly learned to put up with the hassles of travel.
I try to imagine going back in time to try to explain to someone what it’s like to fly. Maybe someone like Thomas Jefferson, who was an intelligent man, and one who I think – with some explanation – could comprehend what flight would be like.
And after we’d discussed the amazing aspects – You can get from Boston to Paris in six hours! It costs maybe 2 or 3 days’ wages for a working individual! It’s breathtakingly safe!
But then I think that – being good Americans – we’d probably relate some of the complaints people have.
And at this point in our hypothetical conversation, I can imagine Mr Jefferson scratching his head in puzzlement.
“You mean, you can cross the oceans in hours and opposed to weeks? And it’s much safer than a boat? And it’s relatively cheap? And you’re grumbling because your flight only has 11 movies available, and the food is sometimes not as great as you would like it to be?”
But complain we do. So do I. And even when I’m complaining, I’ve just gotta say:
I love airplanes.
And I love airports.
And if you were to give me a round trip flight from, day, Greensboro (the closest airport to me) to Dallas and if I had to get back on a plane and return immediately, I’d do it. And I’d have a good time, too.