Tales of the Road

Yesterday evening I flew back to Tucson after a trip to the northeast to see the boyfriend and family over the 4th of July holiday. Both flights were pretty bumpy, but on time, so no complaints. A couple funny incidents and thoughts to share...

While boarding the flight in Boston, a middle aged woman comes down the aisle with a fairly heavy-looking carry-on that needs to go in the overhead. Her seat is in front of a man holding a baby.
Woman, to man: Can you help me with this?
Man: Sure! Where should I put my baby?
Fortunately a baby-less man from across the aisle stepped in to help.

While the plane is taxing towards the runway, a flight attendant comes over the PA system.
Flight Attendant: Is there a passenger with an iPhone? I need a passenger with an iPhone. (A half dozen hands in my section go up.) I have a passenger in first class who doesn't know how to turn his off. (Entire plane laughing.)
Pilot: Throwing it on the ground and stomping on it usually gets the job done.

There was a family a few rows ahead of me with 4 kids under the age of about 8, and when the plane took off, they all yelled like they were on a roller coaster.

While riding the tram between terminals in Atlanta, they made announcements as we arrived at each terminal. Terminal A as in alpha, B as in bravo, etc. It occurred to me, isn't it a bit strange that we use C as in Charlie...when Charlie starts with a "ch" sound rather than a hard "c" sound?

My flight to Tucson left Atlanta from the international terminal. Now, I know Tucson is kind of a strange place, and it's not at all far from Mexico, but really? The international terminal?

There were TONS and TONS of uniformed military personnel around my gate. I'm used to having a handful of military people on my flights to and from Tucson because there's an air force base in town, and an army base about an hour away. But I'm talking easily a couple hundred people here. The flight across from mine was going to Kuwait. Which then got me wondering, were there any civilians on that flight? Who voluntarily goes to Kuwait??

Some of you know that I frequently buy Cosmo magazine when I fly. Now I know it's trash, but much of it is entertaining trash. I find it funny that every month they have another version of "99 ways to please your man," because clearly the 99 ways they offered last month won't work anymore. Anyways, this trip was no exception, and I had a Cosmo with me for my in-flight entertainment. Except on my way to Tucson I found myself seated next to a very nice little Muslim family. I've felt a little awkward reading Cosmo when I find myself seated next to a man like my dad's age, or an old woman like my grandmother's age...but this was different... I twiddled my thumbs until they went to sleep so I could read my Cosmo without feeling like I'm going to hell.