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Nancy Parker Brummett

Nancy Parker Brummett

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Flights Not So Fancy

March 15, 2018 by Nancy 18 Comments

Plane 2Well, our bags aren’t packed but we’re ready to go. My husband and I will be “leaving on a jet plane” twice this spring on short trips to visit family, and it has me thinking about the changes in air travel since I took my first flight.

I’m pretty sure all of our 12 grandchildren flew on an airplane before they were three years old. Some of them flew at much younger ages and quite frequently. I don’t know about you, but I was 16 when I first traveled by air. I’d volunteered to co-chair the Teenage March of Dimes in my hometown of Knoxville, TN. The other co-chair (a boy I thought was especially dreamy!) and I traveled all the way to Memphis with the group sponsor for the regional kick-off and training. I’m pretty sure that even though Memphis is in the same state, we changed planes in Atlanta to get there. (My mother always said she’d have to go through Atlanta to get to heaven, but since she has already departed I’ll have to wait to ask her if that was the case once I see her there!)

For sure we traveled on Delta Airlines, the airline of the South, and my heart was racing as we walked on to the tarmac to climb up that long, steep stairway to get on the plane. I looked back once to see my mom and dad pressed up against the window of the terminal waving and smiling. Because those were two relatively short hops, I don’t remember being served a meal in flight on one of the divided trays they used in the 60’s (remember linen napkins and real silverware even in coach?), but just having a Coca-Cola and bag of peanuts that I didn’t have to share with my sisters was the height of luxury to me.

I also remember how beautiful and glamorous I thought the stewardesses were. (They weren’t called flight attendants in those days.) They looked like Miss America contestants to me with their fancy hairdos, perfect makeup, jaunty hats, and pressed uniforms. On the printed material in the seat pocket were illustrations of stewardesses serenely sliding down the emergency ramps in their heels—and I was reassured by how easy they made it seem.

But at the risk of sounding like a geezer, flying just isn’t what it used to be. Compare the flying you did as a teenager or young adult with your last experience and you’ll agree. Obviously the necessarily stricter security measures have contributed to the change. Once you are scanned or patted down and walk to the nearest chair in your socks carrying your belt and shoes, your expectations for a glamorous travel experience are pretty much over. Add delayed or canceled flights, no leg room, possibly surly gate agents and exhausted flight attendants, and there’s little magic left to write home about.

And how the dress passengers consider appropriate has changed! My mom always traveled in a suit with heels, and my dad wore a sport coat and tie. Dressing to travel was akin to dressing for church. You wanted to look your best. I’m OK with more comfortable, casual travel clothes, but do people really have to board in their pajama bottoms, muscle shirts, and flip-flops—even on an early morning flight?God sky 3

Yet parts of flying never disappoint. My husband and I woke up in Rome, Italy, one morning in 2011 and went to bed in our own bed in Colorado Springs, CO, that night. We must never stop thinking of that as anything but incredible! There’s also something about flying that gets the cobwebs out of my mind and invigorates my soul. Gazing out the window of a plane seemingly eye level with a full moon, or looking down on fields of puffy clouds, it’s impossible to miss what an amazing universe we are blessed to inhabit.

Some of my best ideas and insights have come while traveling on a plane, and I don’t think that will ever change. Flying helps us realize just how awesome God’s Creation is. When we can hold fast to the best and not fret about the rest, it’s still an adventure worth taking. And remember, any flight that lands safely is a good flight!

Filed Under: Back Porch Break Tagged With: Air Travel, cancellations, delays, Flights, Stewardesses

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jimmie says

    March 16, 2018 at 9:47 am

    I was 28 when I had my first flight!!
    Not as much of an adventure as it used to be!
    Jimmie

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      March 19, 2018 at 3:01 pm

      You can say that again, Jimmie!

      Reply
  2. Jim B (your loving huzzband) says

    March 16, 2018 at 10:07 am

    Holding fast to the best – looking forward to our next flight together!

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      March 19, 2018 at 3:02 pm

      Me, too! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Deborah says

    March 16, 2018 at 12:04 pm

    I enjoy flying too, Nancy. As a child, I always thought it was too horribly scary to even think about doing, so I was 49 when I took my first flight. Like your mother said, I had to change planes in Atlanta, but everything went pretty smoothly. That trip was from Chattanooga to Tampa. I’ve even had to change planes in Atlanta going from Knoxville to Newark, which makes no sense to me. After that first flight, I wasn’t scared to fly any more. I choose the window seat when I can because I love looking first down on my town as we take off and then at the beautiful clouds you mentioned. Loved your story today. Safe flying to everyone out there!

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      March 19, 2018 at 3:03 pm

      Thanks, Deborah! Safe flying to you, too!

      Reply
  4. Lea Ann says

    March 16, 2018 at 3:35 pm

    I DO remember some amazing thoughts that came when you were on a plane (just don’t remember what they were!). Inspirational and spot on!!!

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      March 19, 2018 at 3:03 pm

      I’ll bet you recorded them or shared them somewhere, Lea Ann! Thanks.

      Reply
  5. leigh says

    March 16, 2018 at 3:51 pm

    You have to go through Atlanta to get to heaven! Pretty sure that’s true! And being an Atlanta native, I can’t think of a thing wrong with that! Love this Nancy– my kids will always remember that their first plane trip was to Colorado! 🙂

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      March 19, 2018 at 3:04 pm

      That’s so special to US, too! I agree, if you have to go someplace, it might as well be Atlanta!:)

      Reply
  6. Beth Lueders says

    March 16, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    Love your retrospective on flying over the years, Nancy. Oh, the stories we could all tell about our travels. Here’s to many more ingenious ideas and solved problems in the friendly skies.

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      March 19, 2018 at 3:04 pm

      Yes and amen! Thanks, Beth.

      Reply
  7. Sue says

    March 16, 2018 at 5:03 pm

    That first flight was exciting–I was 16. Thanks, Nancy, for the memories!

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      March 19, 2018 at 3:05 pm

      You’re welcome. Maybe we were in the sky at the same time!

      Reply
  8. Jan Keller says

    March 16, 2018 at 9:22 pm

    Thanks for sharing your awesome adventuring!

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      March 19, 2018 at 3:05 pm

      My pleasure, Jan!

      Reply
  9. Elizabeth Van Liere says

    March 17, 2018 at 11:24 am

    Have flown many times and enjoyed the trips and even the waiting for my flight. Watching people and wondering about them, talking to a few–it was never boring. But I’ve given up the flying for now. The one I’m looking forward to these days is the one in the song: “I’ll fly away.” It could come any day. Any year?
    Always love reading your posts, Nancy.

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      March 19, 2018 at 3:07 pm

      Thanks, Betty! That will be the favorite flight of all of us! We sang that at my mom’s graveside at her request. Always holds special meaning for me. Hugs.

      Reply

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