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Wherever you go, there you are
Nov. 11th, 2001 12:32 amI'm in Detroit after uneventful flights.
These were the first flights that I've taken since the 9/11 events. It's an awful thing to say, but these flights were more enjoyable than pre-9/11 flights. The flight attendants seemed nicer and more human (and sometimes droll). The planes are less packed. Fellow travelers seemed more patient (except for the woman behind me in line at SJC who kept complaining every few minutes over the length of the check-in line).
The line was long. It took 40 minutes to check in. As well, apparently a person traveling alone with a laptop matches a profile, so I and my laptop were poked, prodded, and wanded not once, but twice, in SJC. (My mom said that it's because I look like a shady character. If so, whose fault is that? <grin>)
Being on a plane was still relaxing overall, but when we took off, I did catch myself thinking of the people on the 9/11 flights. Was also imagining what it would have been like to be on a plane that was grounded on that day. Must've been one hell of a flight announcement.
Speaking of flight announcements, the crew of the first flight just said that no one could get into the cockpit, and left it at that. On the second flight (Chicago to Detroit), the pilot went into a long spiel about how safe it is to be on the plane now and that he would let his kids fly on the plane--and please stay in your seats unless you have to get up and stay away from the cockpit. Uh, okay. It was a slingshot flight--at soon as you reach cruising altitude, you start descending (45 minutes flying time)--so his security speech seemed a bit like overkill.
However, thinking about the 9/11 events whenever we fly seems appropriate. It's a good topic for personal meditation as long as it doesn't lapse into paranoia.
Anyway, I'm here at my mom's house and my laptop works. My rough agenda is as follows:
These were the first flights that I've taken since the 9/11 events. It's an awful thing to say, but these flights were more enjoyable than pre-9/11 flights. The flight attendants seemed nicer and more human (and sometimes droll). The planes are less packed. Fellow travelers seemed more patient (except for the woman behind me in line at SJC who kept complaining every few minutes over the length of the check-in line).
The line was long. It took 40 minutes to check in. As well, apparently a person traveling alone with a laptop matches a profile, so I and my laptop were poked, prodded, and wanded not once, but twice, in SJC. (My mom said that it's because I look like a shady character. If so, whose fault is that? <grin>)
Being on a plane was still relaxing overall, but when we took off, I did catch myself thinking of the people on the 9/11 flights. Was also imagining what it would have been like to be on a plane that was grounded on that day. Must've been one hell of a flight announcement.
Speaking of flight announcements, the crew of the first flight just said that no one could get into the cockpit, and left it at that. On the second flight (Chicago to Detroit), the pilot went into a long spiel about how safe it is to be on the plane now and that he would let his kids fly on the plane--and please stay in your seats unless you have to get up and stay away from the cockpit. Uh, okay. It was a slingshot flight--at soon as you reach cruising altitude, you start descending (45 minutes flying time)--so his security speech seemed a bit like overkill.
However, thinking about the 9/11 events whenever we fly seems appropriate. It's a good topic for personal meditation as long as it doesn't lapse into paranoia.
Anyway, I'm here at my mom's house and my laptop works. My rough agenda is as follows:
- In Detroit through Monday
- In Columbus (with my mom) Tuesday through Friday
- Back in Detroit until I fly back on Sunday.
