I'm not a big fan of flying. Some reasons are uncontrollable – a vivid fear that the plane will suddenly plummet to the ground is near the top. But a lot of people don't like flying now – long waits, canceled flights among theirs. Our trip back from Hawaii was a disaster. Our connecting flight from San Fran to Denver was canceled. So we had to catch a short flight from San Fran to L.A. to then catch a plane to Denver but not before that flight was delayed about a half hour while we waited for an additional FAA-mandated flight attendant. For anyone interested in knowing how many flight attendants it takes to pour a cup of coffee, I now know the answer – no joke. But these are the obvious inconveniences of flying right now. You simply realize the tone of flying right now is all wrong. Flight attendants are surly at best – continuing to believe this is actually their flight and we simply keep hassling them. I actually had a flight attendant ask me to remove the diaper I had just placed in her pristine trash bag because I have to throw that away in the restroom which I can't go to because the fasten seat belt sign is on because the pilot is sky surfing again. I can only assume she was going to rummage through the bag later for nickels and uneaten pretzels. On our flight to Hawaii, when our daughter was wide-awake and in need of entertainment, they showed an in-flight movie about a couple ravaged by time and the grueling decision to place one in a rest home. My daughter lost interest quickly. On the red-eye flight back, when my daughter and 95 percent of the other people on the plane were asleep, they showed "Surf's Up" – a charming, animated tale about a penguin competing in a surfing contest. What am I missing? And it's probably the perennial gripe but you shell out hundreds of dollars for plane tickets and then you have to pitch in five bucks more for a snack box or a crummy turkey sandwich. Why are the airlines struggling? You tell me.
