Flying's for the Birds!

There were 44,000 airplanes in the air the day before Thanksgiving.

As opposed to the average of 25,000 on any previous day ending in "y."

And all those airplanes were (are) managed by our antiquated Air Traffic Control system.  With many of it's computers still requiring floppy discs to function.   

So this is how it's supposed to work:  All those airliners are supposedly kept 1,000 verticle and one mile horizontal feet separated.  Supposedly managed by air traffic controllers, which are presently 30% understaffed.    

Aluminum tubes crammed full of pissed off travelers hurtling across the sky at 500 miles per hour.  While barely separated by too-few controllers who are overworked and kept functioning by loads of coffee and who knows what else.

When a car crash occurs there might be one or two killed.  When an airplane crashes there might be 250 killed.  And if you're saying they don't crash all that often, you're uninformed.  There have been more than 50 airliners crash so far this year.  50.  Does this give you confidence?

When I started flying on business several decades ago the planes were all new, they took off half filled, and those flying were all wearing suits and carrying briefcases.  And the stews (what they called themselves) were all 25 and beautiful.  And friendly, if you know what I mean.  

Then the Gubmint got involved.  It decided to deregulate the airlines.  Now?  The planes are all old, they take off with every seat filled, and the stews are all grandmothers.  And the guy on your right weighs 350 pounds and the one on your left has a comfort chicken on his lap.  

We're told that some 93 million of us will be traveling over the Christmas holiday.  With about 6.7% of them traveling by silver tube.  Fighting their way to the airports, fighting their way through the check in process, getting felt up by some 400 pound TSA agent, and then fighting for a seat once they get on the plane.  And then paying extra to bring their baggage, and for their drinks, and for a blanket, and for something to eat.  Treated like cattle.  Worse then cattle!  Like a Greyhound bus in the skies.  And if you've never taken a bus, just take a plane.  It's the same deal.  

Why do we do this to ourselves?  I say if you cannot get there by car, don't go.  If you have to fly to visit grandma, I say move granny into your extra bedroom and save all the time, money and grief.  It takes hours to finally get your size 10 ass into your size 8 seat on Leroy's Airline.  IF you can score that seat.  Odds are you just might find your flight's delayed, or perhaps even canceled.  Too bad, so sad.  They don't care.  You should.

And there's another thing you might consider.  All those overworked airplanes were built by humans.  Union workers who are overworked and, according to them, underpaid.  It's the same deal with cars, except when cars quit working, the result is just an inconvenience.  You pull over to the side of the road and call AAA.  When a plane quits working, it's a fiery crash and bodies are spread everywhere.

I quit flying, even after a million miles in the air, when it stopped being fun.  I decided to no longer subject myself to the awful strain, anxiety, cost and inconvenience.  I decided not to pay to be mistreated.  Expecially when I could fire up old Jessie and drive to my destination at my pace, and on my schedule.  In my comfy bucket seat.  Stopping every hundred miles or so to grab a drink, empty my bladder and stretch my legs.  With nobody, NOBODY telling me what to do and how and when to do it.  I opted for freedom.  FREEDOM!    

You might want to do the same...