I love to fly...NOT!

Yesterday morning as Patrick and I were getting ready for school and work the following video came on the television.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1O8CjKBsCEo

Patrick’s comment was, “Why do they always show these clips when we are getting ready to fly?” In 15 more days we will be leaving on spring break going to sunny Florida. It never fails there is always some disaster that happens prior to us leaving.

I remember the very first time I flew I was scared to death. It was the summer of 1988. My brother was getting married and Ric and I were going to fly to Florida for the wedding and drive back with mom and dad. The week we were leaving was just a normal week. Every morning I had the alarm set to go off by playing our favorite radio station, I105.3. Monday morning the news came on the radio. “A Delta jet has crashed in the United States. All those on board are believed to have perished.” How terrible for them and their families I thought. Tuesday morning the alarm goes off and again there is another Delta plane that has crashed in the USA killing all
those on board. Wednesday and Thursday, the same thing. By Friday Ric and I are on pins and needles thinking we will be getting on a Delta flight heading for Florida by evening.

I remember my dad calling me before we left asking if we were ready to come to Florida. My response, “Waaaaaaaaaa! I’m not coming!” Some friends of ours were coming to pick us up to take us to the Louisville Airport. Had they not picked us up, I don’t really think I would have went. I remember the last thing I seen before boarding the plane was a machine where you could purchase life insurance for a minimal fee. Ugh! I remember sitting in the plane trying to hear the
instructions on how to use your seat as a float and how to put on the oxygen masks if there was an emergency. Once we took off and got into the air, it wasn’t all that bad. The view was something to look at and keep our minds off of the news. We had a lay-over in Atlanta. As we landed and the engines were reversed to slow the plane down, I thought we were going to die! Again, as we figured out what was happening, it wasn’t so bad.

We only had to spend about 10 minutes in Atlanta before we were boarding another plane heading to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. As we were landing in sunny Florida on that hot June day, I remember hearing the pilot instructing the passengers to stay seated with your seatbelts fastened until the plane taxied to a stop. I still laugh now about how the passengers jumped to their feet as soon as the first wheels hit the ground. For the life of me I couldn’t figured out what they were doing. But as Ric and I tried to get off the plane we wound up being the LAST passengers off because we hadn’t jumped the gun so quickly.

I recall making our way off the plane and heading towards the terminal. I could see my dad and mom standing at the end of the isle with their necks stretched out looking for us. As we made our way to them, I waved at them and shouted, “I love to fly!” The look on their faces was priceless. I think they could have whipped my butt right there in the airport. They really thought we weren’t coming!

So here I am again with 15 days left before I have to board another flight to Florida. Am I scared? You bet! Does it help that Matt Lauer mentioned only 1 in 1,000,000 people are in airplane crashes? Nope. He says we are more than likely to have a crash traveling to the airport rather than in the airplane.

I guess I will have to tell Ric to drive carefully on his way to the Louisville Airport!