Saturday, May 11, 2013
Flying
Sitting on the runway at La Guardia airport just about to take off, I look out of my little rectangular window at the wet ground and grey sky. Soon, I’ll be above all of this and in the Sun, I idly think. It’s an 8 AM flight and the plane is only 75% full, so there’s a relative quietness in the cabin. The engines start rumbling in all of their power and the plane shutters in response and soon begins to roll. Faster and faster it barrels across the tarmac and the engines scream more power in response. A feeling of exhilaration wells in me as the nose of the plane rises and the tail drops. Out of the loud silence, as if in response to my subtle excitement as I feel the plane do that little dip when wheels finally lift, a young boy yells out, “Yaaaay!”
I smile to myself and think, “Yes, ‘Yay!’ was the right response.”
At 37, I've flown a million times. Well, not a million, but you get the point: I've flown a lot, my first time being when I was about this boy’s age. All my life I have been in awe of these huge, flying vehicles, with their powerful jet engines. But now, air travel is more a hassle than it is exciting. I envy this boy. He is only just learning the wonder of flying in a plane: feeling the power of lift off, looking down upon the world picking out roads, fields, and cities, the excitement of being en route to some far off land.
There was a time when I used to be able to recreate that innocent excitement in me. Now, I just feel envy and happiness for that person. Why is that? Am I just getting too old? Am I losing my youthful mind that I've tried so hard to keep?
It’s unfortunate that air travel today isn't much more than a utilitarian assembly line. Of course, Security is such a pain in the ass now, though I’ll admit it is better than it was 5 years ago. I can accept that it will never be as easy as it was pre-9/11, but it’s ridiculous that we are still taking our belts and shoes off. But beyond security, flights are constantly delayed, any food you may receive is processed, and every week there’s a story on the news about an “incident”. When I was that boy’s age, not only did you get a lunch, you got a choice of which one you wanted! But I digress, I’m sounding too much like, “Back in the day…!”
Maybe I am getting too old to keep my youth. This boy doesn't seem to care about those things. He’s just living in the moment; excited for his new experience. I need to find that again.
Yes. “Yay!” That was the right response.
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