The photo above of my grandson flying back to Chicago
reminded me of my first business flight ironically from Kansas City to Chicago. There’s a huge age gap between our two trips
and a sign of the times. He’s strapped
in the window seat of a 737 while I was probably sitting in the center seat of
a 707. And this isn’t his first rodeo
either as he sips a cup of water and watches a video on an iPad with attached headphones!
My first road trip was memorable after all these years as I
remembered a scene that could have been easily scripted for A Christmas Story
with a young Larry subbing as Ralphie. I distinctly
remember sitting in the backseat of our four-door family sedan eating a bag of
orange Cheetos and drinking a soda while reading a Superman comic book. Unbeknownst to me, my father had begun to
circle the Colorado mountains on our way to visit family in Canon City. All of a sudden, I looked up from my comic
book and realized that the world in my head and stomach was also circling
around out of control. My mother looked
back at me and immediately told me to roll down the window and stick my head
outside. Fortunately, I wasn’t strapped
in as there were no seatbelts in those days.
I immediately did as I was told and began to coat the outside of the car
with an orangey substance that my father had to wash off at the next service
station!
My first flight to Chicago could have ended the same way
with the assistance of the complimentary barf bags in the seatback, but I wasn’t
reading and managed to set my eyes on the stable bulkhead in front of me until
the turbulence and motion sickness subsided.
I’ve since flown on countless business and personal trips without up-chucking
and honestly earned my Road Warrior badge.
I did have some close calls, however, like the time I had to quickly
grab a waste basket when a business associate sitting across from me on the
company jet tossed up in it just-in-time!
It seems the grandson will already qualify by this coming new year!
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