I've been sitting on an airplane for several hours, and my ears don't hurt. I haven't yet felt that agonizing pressure that makes me feel like my head is going to explode. I don't feel motion sick either. The plane is not jerking wildly from side to side, or dropping suddenly with that motion that makes my stomach twist. So far, I'm feeling fine, although a bit cramped from sitting in this small seat and a bit drowsy from the dramamine I've taken.
Of course, the plane is still on the ground.
We are supposedly "in line" to use the runway. We've been "in line" all evening. And if I look out the window, I can see that the phrase is not a metaphor. I can see several big airplanes ahead of us. Every once in a while, the plane ahead of us rolls a few hundred yards farther, and we follow.
A young boy several seats ahead of me keeps twisting and turning and crying about how he hates being on the plane. He's pretty young, and it's socially acceptable for him to voice his complaints. I'm envious.
Whenever I mention to my friends that air travel makes me nervous, that it's a completely unnatural way to travel, they reassure me that the air planes are built with all kinds of amazing technology. I am repeatedly assured that the air traffic controllers use the most advanced computer systems to keep us safe in the air, preventing us from crashing into other planes.
And yet ... the best system for getting a whole bunch of big airplanes out of an airport is to literally roll them into a line, like kindergarten kids waiting to use the bathroom?
Yes, this gives me confidence in the whole endeavor.
7 comments:
I'm right there with you. I try hard not to think about it in case the gods notice that we're defying gravity.
Oh, I agree that it's an unnatural way to travel. It's only that, like going to the dentist, I've done it enough to have gotten used to it.
(Do you have a preference for small vs. large planes? I actually like the smaller ones, partly because the crews are friendly, partly because they remind me of when my dad would take us up in a rental Cub or Piper, and partly because I hate the g-forces that get going in the big ones. Ooof. It does help that I'm not motion-sick prone, though.)
Gad, I hope you're off the ground and on your way to someplace nice.
Stupid airplanes. I'd be crying like that kid, too.
Rana: I prefer the large planes, despite the fact that they remind me of every airplane disaster movie I've ever seen. Mostly, I try to get a seat on the aisle and try to pretend I'm on a train.
KathyR: I'm safely home now .... although still recovering from the trip. My ears aren't done popping yet: I feel like I'm underwater.
Oof. I have to fly twice this week--once without kids and once with. I hope that neither time is there a multi-hour wait on the runway, but especially not with the kids.
People keep telling me that the reason they fly is the convenience. But every flying story I hear is notable for its lack of convenience.
FA
rana's right, it's like going to the dentist -- only, i'd rather be stuck in an airport than be in the dental chair. stuck in an airplane waiting to take off? ugh. glad you are safely home.
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