Skip to main content

Up, Up and Away . . .





One of my favorite memories of growing up was when my sister Kelli and I got to fly, by ourselves, from our home in Milwaukee to visit our grandparents in Champaign Illinois. We were dressed similarly - in matching suits of different colors. I believe we were 9 and 8 and so proud that our parents were letting us on this big adventure. It also meant changing planes at O'Hare airport! We were instructed on how to get help looking for our gate and reminded just how large O'Hare was. We felt grown up!

Our father travelled a lot for business, so he gave us valuable information about that monstrous airport (that it had seven 'fingers' was one tidbit I still remember - he was referring to the terminals). It shouldn't have surprised either Kelli or I that upon landing, our Dad would just happen to be at O'Hare too. He claimed that he too was there to change flights and since we had a little bit of time, wouldn't it be great to have lunch together. So the three of us went to the Admiral's Club and then he escorted us to our gate for the rest of the journey to Champaign.

I had a chance to think about that trip (and others of my youth) when John and I had a layover at O'Hare this past weekend. It's way more monstrous and flying is a way different experience! My memories of 'airline' travel may be colored a bit by time and nostalgia, but it used to be a first rate way to travel. You were treated respectfully by the flight crews, served beverages and even full meals if the flight was longer than a couple hours. On shorter flights, you were served a snack and beverages. Since my Dad was a frequent traveler he had a membership in the Admiral's Club - a place where you could go to relax and be served more beverages and snacks and sit in a comfortable and quieter atmosphere.

Well, those days are long gone - they've gone up, up and away!

The overall impression is being herded like cattle - from the lines at the ticket counters, to the TSA checkpoints, to the waiting areas, to the overcrowded dining or shopping options, to the plane, off the plane, through baggage claim and onto the taxi queues. All the while fellow travelers can almost be heard, voicing "Mooooooooo-ve out of my way!"

I won't go into the details of the debacle - suffice it to say we were supposed to arrive in Grand Rapids at 11:30 a.m. and arrived instead at 3:30 a.m. 


I'm sure some of the chaos of airline travel is that there are so many people flying these days -  there are a lot of deals out there and people are finding ways to afford the trips. Airlines are trying to maximize their profits (or even make one) so they are filling planes often over capacity to make it cost effective. And those seats just seem to get closer together - and I don't even have long legs!


So this year for spring break, we're not flying. Or even driving. I'm going to see  if train travel has lost it's luster too!

Comments

  1. Kathleen, I love your story about your Dad and you an Kelli at the airport! What a great experience for an 8 year old! Thanks for sharing this! And great to "see" you and Kelli!
    Gretchen

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Lemonade out of lemons???

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Have you ever made lemonade from fresh lemons? I haven't but I've got to believe it's a lot of work. I mean first you have to buy a LOT of lemons. One recipe I found said that you'd need five pounds at an average cost of $2/lb means your lemons would set you back $10. I'm not a mathematician, as my friends, family and coworkers can attest, so I used a calculator so you can trust my math. And then you'll need 2 cups of sugar - at a cost of about $1.70 for 32 oz. that equates to (again, I used a calculator so you can trust my math) 85 cents for your pitcher of lemonade. So, for your pitcher of lemonade it would cost $10.85 (again,  the calculator was used). According to my research and the recipes I read, it will take approximately 15 minutes to make your pitcher, because you have to boil the water with the sugar, squeeze the lemons, remove the seeds, stir and I'm guessing sweat and swear at why the hell you...

Dick Clark

I know I don't look, or act, old enough but Dick Clark was a huge part of my childhood and adolescence.  I watched American Bandstand on Saturdays throughout my school years. I loved to dance and I could watch and dance along with the 'really groovy' dancers on the Bandstand. It was my view into the latest music, dance moves, and fashion! I could see what the girls from the big city of Philly were wearing and try to adorn myself in something similar in the big suburbs. Next to Seventeen magazine, it was my best source for fashion!! Now mind you this is 'back in the day' when most homes only had one TV. And I don't think ours was color until the mid-to-late 70s. So, I would have to announce to my four siblings that it was my turn for the TV at 12:30 when the Bandstand came on. You can imagine the number of times actually sibling warfare broke out - you know name-calling, pillows flying, arms flailing. Often times we'd end up laughing. And then later the...

When a small town is huge

  In the movie "it's a Wonderful Life", the protagonist George Bailey has longed nearly his whole life to 'shake off the dust of this crummy little town off my feet," to see the world. But Bedford Falls, that crummy little town, felt differently about George. And with the help of a quirky guardian angel, George eventually sees that his life and his town were pretty wonderful. Good lord, but I love that movie and it's characters and it's moral and that small town. I watch it every year at least twice and still cry every time. And I wonder too about the man that pushes the devious Mr. Potter's wheelchair and stands by his side- you know the man, he looks a little like Lurch from "The Addams Family". I wonder, what was he thinking as he listened and watched his boss ruin the lives of everyone he could. What kind of an Non-disclosure agreement did he sign, to keep him silent as he stood by and watched Potter pocket the money Uncle Billy was depo...