If you know me, there is a chance you know that I don't necessarily have the best relationship with flying. Or a fondness. The trouble with this, is that I love flying. I love the end result. I love that I can get on a plane and in a matter of hours, I can be anywhere. With a car, the 'world' out there seems pretty small. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of cool things you can see with a car. But, my preference would be to fly somewhere, then rent a car to take me to see the cool things!
I first joined the loyalty program for American Airlines on Oct 20, 1998. Funny enough, it happens to be our anniversary, only 3 years prior. My job has always required travel. All 4 of the companies I've worked for since college. Just on American, I now have logged 1.6MM miles. This doesn't count my trips on Southwest, Delta or any other airline. And, I still hate, to a very large degree, flying. My father was a pilot. I can't even imagine how many miles he logged. And, nothing ever happened. Take-off is really my dreaded part of flying. My hands get sweaty, I get fidgety in my seat, and more times than not, I think we are going to crash. Engine failure, plane is off balance, birds in the engine....you name it, it's crossed my mind. Once I get at a 'comfortable' level, I'm fine. For the most part. I've at least come to grips with turbulence. It doesn't bother me as much any more. Thank goodness...perhaps in another 1MM miles, I'll figure out that take-off is ok too.
For the love part though, it goes beyond the destination. It's the people. I have somehow had the chance to meet some of the most amazing people on planes. Don't worry, if you sit next to me, I'm not the crazy one that talks your ear off and ignores the body language signs (or headphones) that says, 'I really don't feel like talking to you, lady'. I read that pretty quickly. And, often times, I'm the one giving that sign. But, many time, I connect with people too. I met a man who lives on my street in Miami. He was coming home from a business trip to Iceland, just a few weeks before my first business trip there. He gave me a restaurant recommendation in Iceland. I met a woman flying back next to me from London, that lives in my neighborhood and is a good friend of one of my friends. We just met for drinks the other day. Flying back from NYC with Olivia, I met a woman who is a retired interior decorator in a nearby neighborhood and we exchanged emails. I met an extremely successful business woman who invited me to sit with her at a luncheon. Sitting right next to Madeline Albright. They are friends. I've met two older woman, at different times, that were on their way to the Galapagos Islands because it was on their bucket list. I could go on, but I will spare you. But, I continue to be amazed. I've met some pretty fascinating people and all because we just happened to be sitting next to each other on a plane. It's one of those weird things....if you don't ask, you'll never know who you can meet. I love people and I love hearing their story.
So, for all the agony, ulcers and sweaty palms....I'll take the flying. I read an article the other day talking about the safety of flying and the unlikelihood of anything happening to you. The article said you'd have to fly everyday for 35,000 days to encounter any issues. And, that riding on an escalator was more dangerous than flying. That statement made me laugh enough that I might actually find a way to convince myself that flying is ok.
