Airports, Ugh

Flying used to be fun and exciting.  People used to applaud at lift-offs and, especially, landings.  You could say that flying was an interactive experience. Not anymore. I remember buying my ticket at the gate and boarding immediately.  I remember when I was physically able to stow my own bag above my seat. Between heightened security and my disability, air travel is a different animal.  Standing in line waiting for the TSA to screen me is torment.  Choosing which shoes to wear is a dilemma.  Which should I wear, since I cannot just bend down and put my shoes back on? Did I remember to take off my wedding ring and my watch? I have to put my cane through the small scanner and stand alone with my arms raised in the narrow cylinder.  Explaining that my balance isn’t good and one of my arms won’t raise high enough does not stop them from telling me to stand still and raise my arm higher.  Finally, I retrieve my cane and my shoes. I am shuttled through the airport in a wheel chair by an attendant who expects a hefty tip. Families with small children and handicapped people are allowed to board the plane first.  It should also be true of disembarking, but it’s not. I used to bring carry-on luggage, but I can no longer stow my own bag in the bin, and I certainly can’t get it back down again. One time, I waited until I was the last one to disembark because I needed help with my carry-on.  The crew had already left.  A stewardess stopped back 15 minutes later to check the plane and was surprised to find me. Me: “I need help.” Stewardess: “Do you need a wheel chair?” Me, pointing skyward: “Yes, but I also need help getting my bag down.” Stewardess, looking confused for a second: “Oh.” She did get my bag down and ordered a wheel chair.  Once, on a different flight, asked a fellow passenger to help me with my bag.  He cursed me out for imposing on him.  I never asked a fellow passenger again for any assistance.  Rudeness: 1.  Civility: 0.  It feels good to know that when I was young, I helped people. The obvious answer is to stop flying and stick to road trips that are on the ground.  Here’s where it gets sticky.  My closest friend wanted to enter a sweepstakes for an all-expense-paid trip to the Caribbean.  She didn’t enter because she thought I wouldn’t fly with her.  I told her to go ahead and enter, because an all-expense-paid trip to the Caribbean is too good to pass up.  Besides, I have terrible luck, so she won’t win.  Will she???

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Java Davis