Flights were pretty painless, no drama, and I once again entered my own personal dystopian fantasy/nightmare on the plane while cranking anthem oriented rock and looking around at all the crazy people jammed on the aircraft. I did not see John Lithgow on the plane, and that was a good thing. At one point, looking up the aisle and seeing the same image repeated on every little mini-television and all the people staring at them, I thought I was in a remake of The Wall.
I snapped a picture of a girl in the DC airport with purple hair wearing a t-shirt that said “That One” and the Obama logo. She was taken aback when I told her to smile for the camera, but then saw my Obama button on my shirt and laughed. As a general rule, I am a fan of women with purple or red hair and/or piercings. It is one of my many weaknesses- crazy women. Love ’em. I would post the picture, but go figure- I forgot the cable that connects my damned camera to the computer.
The Who as a band has aged very well.
So has Rush.
And Yes.
There is a special place in hell for people who cram their fucking luggage into the carry-on space so that I have to have a laptop in between my damned for a three hour flight because there is no room. Check that shit, you cheap, no-good, self-centered pricks.
At several points during the flight I got giddy and lightheaded, and I do not know if that was from lack of sleep, the black coffee I had been mainlining, or something to do with changing altitudes. I briefly wondered if I was losing my mind, and then decided that crazy people probably do not wonder if they are crazy, and that even if I was going nuts, it really would be more of a problem for other people. I mean, after all, what would I care- I would be nuts.
I am nervous and going to start drinking heavily.
/streamofconsciousness
MarkusB
I mean, after all, what would I care- I would be nuts.
That’s comforting, the way I feel today.
I’m mostly just staying away from other people so I don’t drive them nuts.
I had no idea I would be so antsy today.
Delia
Well, it used to be people deserved to be cussed out for using up all the storage space on planes for the stuff they should have put in their luggage, but now the airlines charge monstrous amounts if you want to take suitcases, so I don’t know what to say. Send them to the guillotines — airline CEOs that is.
May the Force be with us all today.
Punchy
Uh….what? Townshend has NO hearing, Entwistle is dead, Moon dead awhile back, and God knows where Kenny Jones is right now.
I just got "back" from Agent Flowbee’s website. They’ve managed to make EVERY SINGLE POST about (read: trashing) Obama. Nothing else. Nothing on the economy, rap music, hairstyles, or clandestine spying ops. I’d call it a cesspool, but…..you know the rest.
demkat620
I am so nervous. Want this over.
Laura W
I was just coming over here to find permission to do same.
I nearly made it till 5.
And how could you forget your damn cable? You just did that so everyone wouldn’t beg for photos of you that do not involve costumes and make-up. (Nice set up for the BJ funny guys, huh?)
jeffreyw
Glad ya made it.
It’s like xmas when i was a kid, just know there are presents, and they are the best ever.
Dennis - SGMM
Had to do a lot of travel for my company back in 2000-2002. The assholes would stuff their luggage into the carry-on space then just to save themselves the trouble of checking and reclaiming their luggage. At the end of some trips I would be desperate to just get off the fucking plane and these same assholes would take ten minutes prying their luggage out of the overheads and schlepping it down the aisle.
Grumpy Code Monkey
When I rule the world, radio stations will be required to play "Won’t Get Fooled Again" every hour on the hour on election day. It’s too bad I don’t have the vehicle with the CD player today, or I would be screaming along with Roger all the way home.
It’s actually pretty good therapy.
Jorge
I’m headed to Tae Kwon Do with my boy at 6:30 PM eastern. I hope we work our butts off tonight – got some serious nervous energy to burn off. Plus, I gotta practice in case things go wrong and I gotta riot tomorrow.
John Cole
@Punchy: The music, Retardo montalban. I was listening to them on my Ipod, not hanging out with them.
ninerdave
And it starts (via sully)
Impeach Obama!!
Comrade Jake
I don’t mind the folks with the ridiculous baggage in the overhead so much as the folks who bring really stinky food on the plane, and eat it mid-flight. I don’t think people have any idea how inconsiderate that shit is.
Bear Wilner-Nugent
Whoa, I so know the feelings you describe. Hang in there!
NonyNony
Eh. When I used to do a lot of business travel I’d take one carry-on suitcase. That (and my reading material) was my only luggage – I’d never check anything on the flight out. And that was learned behavior after two different airlines succeeded in losing my luggage for two different business trips and making me go out and buy new clothes for the week. (The flight back was a different story – I could check the bag and not worry about it since I’ve never had an airline lose my luggage on the return trip. Ever. Somehow, I think they know.)
So unless folks are stuffing more than one suitcase into the overhead compartment, I sympathize. Airlines suck. I wish we had more trains in this country because apparently losing luggage is a lot harder for trains than for planes (I’ve never had Amtrak lose a bag yet – but Amtrak doesn’t go everywhere and we don’t have bullet trains).
b. hussein canuckistani
If you mean you can put on those old recordings and they still kick ass, you are correct. If you mean the doddering old geezers still touring around in spite of the fact that Keith Moon is dead, not to mention the Ox, then, no, you’re wrong.
Uh, never mind. Saw your exchange with punchy. I’ll shut up before I get called a bad name too.
Billy K (D-TX)
and….No.
Jay Levitt
Here’s the rule: Psychotics think that 2 + 2 = 5. Neurotics know that 2 + 2 = 4; they just can’t stand it.
JL
Well, The media is probably talking about the exit polls, but I just can’t watch. The exit polls convinced that Kerry was going to pull it out last time.
Doug H. (Comrade Fausto no more)
A half-hour more, then its home to take out the dogs, re-heat the rigatoni, and kick back with a Pale Moon to watch the evening festivities.
I’m not sure whether I want to kick back and watch Celtics-Rockets or hit F5 repeatedly on FARK to watch the impending right-wing meltdown. Maybe both.
Cris v.3.1
I used to be nuts about Tales From Topographic Oceans, but last time I listened to it, it felt pretentious and overwrought. Maybe Yes has aged well, and I haven’t.
Dennis - SGMM
But, but, but, boiled cauliflower drenched in kim chee is soooo good at 35,000 feet!
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
It’s the Saturn-Uranus opposition. It’s making everyone act strangely right now. I’m a bundle of nerves. The coffee I drank earlier was probably NOT a good idea.
Calouste
What Punchy said.
Oh, and Daltrey has lost the ability the hit the higher notes, from a live recording I heard from a few years back.
Axe Diesel Palin
After 9/11 I seriously thought they would put real limits on carry-on bags. It really slows down loading and unloading the plane as well.
Comrade Jake
@Dennis – SGMM:
Heh. I’m probably one of the few people who wouldn’t mind the kim-chee.
Fries from Mickey D’s, OTOH, just get to me. Yuck. So do the large Italian subs. Seriously folks, teh aircraft is not a fucking fast-food joint.
Josh Hueco
OT-Didn’t Geddy Lee come out of the closet a few years ago?
Chuck Butcher
I only take in my carry on what I absolutely have to have if luggage goes astray and I pack luggage very lightly, I can buy stuff when needed.
John, have yourself some fun, you’ve earned it.
Interrobang
Some of us don’t "check that shit" because after hauling ass around hell’s half acre to even get on the flight, we’re so screwed up that walking to the baggage claim area and then back to the exit is just…hahaha, yeah. Even though I can and do walk relatively okay, I’m not able-bodied, and neither is everyone else, and unless y’all can guarantee us one of those wandering golf-cart-like tram thingies exactly where and when we need it every time (good effin’ luck), I at least am going to take every shortcut I can get just so that I’m effing functional the next day. Also, American Airlines lost my luggage once for three days, and that never happens when I skycheck, so bite me and my little carry-on suitcase, too.
gbear
By the way, Tunch is destroying everything you own right now (well, the stuff you didn’t bring with you).
Billy K (D-TX)
Fark!? they still have that? I thought it died after they outlawed the "boobies" tag.
JL
So what time does this site crash tonight!
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
@ninerdave:
That impeachment site is interesting ninerdave, did you happen to read the ABOUT US page which calls the Democratic Party the "Democrat Party" and doesn’t explain who the hell the creators of the site are, except "Citizens"?
Wow, they’re scared. He’s not even elected yet!
TheFountainHead
EVEEREEE BODI FREEEEK OOOOUUUUAAAAGHHHTTT!!!
Paid for by MUPs 4 Amurika.
ninerdave
@Calouste:
So has Plant. I’ll add the might Zep to the bands that still work many moons later.
Dennis - SGMM
@ninerdave:
They certainly seem to have a lot of faith in McCain.
cleek
i knew that.
nobody ever believes me.
OriGuy
A while back, I took a picture of my checked luggage and put it in my carryon backpack. When I had to go to the counter after they left my luggage somewhere, I just showed to them. Easier than trying to describe it.
John, does your laptop have a slot to read the memory card from your camera? Most do these days.
I mostly listen to folk and Celtic these days, but Yes and The Who are still in the rotation. Other bands that I still listen to are Supertramp, ELP, and Little Feat.
Charity
@ninerdave: Doesn’t that imply they think Obama is going to win?
Watching MSNBC, looks like a sunny afternoon there. Hope it’s a nice clear night!
South of I-10
I am nervous and excited and glad to be a part of this election. I see some beer in my future, or I’ll never make it through the returns.
greynoldsct00
Yup, because it’s all about THEM. I truly hate to fly. Between having someone else in control the whole time, inconsiderate asshats and screaming babies I just about lose my mind. I had a flight from JFK to Burbank that had a screaming kid for the whole five hours – she only stopped out of exhaustion periodically and then started up again. You never saw so many people step on each other so fast to get off when we landed. Miserable.
Yeah we need more trains. Goddamn Amtrak hating repubtards.
passerby
John,
Sympathies to you for having to fly in this day and age. It’s the same reason I hate to subject myself to that airport rigamarole THEN endure a span of time in enclosed space w/ many who think only of themselves.
Movie theatres, same thing.
msnbc.com is live streaming. The gang there seems to be in a festive mood…anticipating some very PIVOTAL history that will unfold tonight.
Enjoy your spirits, relax, enjoy the returns.
Cheers
+1/3
ninerdave
Anyone else looking forward to an epic Obama speech tonight?
greynoldsct00
I’m pretty sure he means the guys who stuff oversized or more than one item in the overhead. Nobody minds reasonable carry on
Krista
Ditto. When we went to NYC for our wedding & honeymoon, the airline forgot to put our suitcase on our flight, so it was left back in Halifax. I was almost disappointed that they found it so easily, as we had all of our vital stuff in our carryons anyway, and I was delighted at the thought of having a perfectly valid excuse to have a bit of a shopping spree.
I’m not even watching the election coverage right now — no point until the polls start closing. So I’m watching a really awesome ep of Galactica, and will soon break out the wine.
Fan of redheads, huh? Not everybody likes us, but those who do, seem to really like us.
Punchy
@John Cole: Hmmm……what is it about Cole’s statement that could have confused the issue….
Ure riting skilz r about az gud az my mom is teh hawt.
Edit note: how the fuck am I supposed to bold "as a band" when the whole fucking blockquote is bolded by default? Damn you John.
gopher2b
I just looked out my office window at the park where Obama’s rally is going to be tonight. There are a few hundred people there…looks like it won’t be overwhelmed (which is good). I’m going home to watch the coverage and will arrive later tonight. (Cole, let me know if you want pictures and how to get them to you if you do ).
I was thinking about Obama’s grandmother and wishing she could have made it another day. I’m not religious and don’t really believe in God (98% agnostic) but in that 2% that believes there is something after all this an image of his Grandmother, Grandfather, Mother, and Dad watching the returns tonight came into my head. It’s totally lame, I know, but I had this Return of the Jedi image of the four ghostly figures standing off to the side watching him.
It truly is remarkable what he has accomplished whether you like the man or not. He won’t be perfect but I do honestly feel we’re about to turn a page in this country (both generationally and philsophically) and that makes me happy.
Out.
Dennis - SGMM
I’ve taken the Coast Daylight and the Coast Starlight between LA and San Francisco back in the day. Wonderful trip. When I see those trains from the heyday of passenger rail, the ones with staterooms and full-on dining cars I Just get jealous. I know that we’re all on a hurry but I’ve been on flights that left me trashed for a day and a half afterward. Seems like the extra time spent traveling by train would be compensated by the fact that you’d arrive rested and fully functional.
Dennis - SGMM
@greynoldsct00:
That’s what I meant, anyway. Anyone who doesn’t bring a small survival kit is asking for trouble if their luggage goes astray. Big difference between that and a couple of wheeled suitcases.
The Dangerman
I heard Geddy Lee on the radio a while back; apparently, his wife and kids make a monster production out of Christmas Lights and Ornaments. I forget what he said his monthly bills were, but it was definitely "shit, I’d have to be a rock star to afford this" territory.
As for Rush, yes, they’ve aged well; major fan of Neil Peart, who went through more shit than any guy should and came out of it with time. If you don’t know the story, save it for a time you can get really depressed…
…not today, where I am either celebrating an Obama victory (and drinking until I hit the floor) or pondering how McCain could actually win (and drinking until I hit the emergency room).
Grumpy Code Monkey
@Calouste:
Yeah, but Daltrey (and Plant) are about 187 in human years, so that’s not terribly surprising. Elton can’t hit the high notes either anymore, now that I think about it.
Alex
I think it’s low oxygen levels. I find that when I’m on a flight, I’m ridiculously emotionally sensitive and will start tearing up when even the dumbest of in-flight movies hit their sad moments. On one recent flight, I actually found myself getting watery-eyed in the middle of Good Luck Chuck because it was so sad that those two kids couldn’t make it work. And you thought you were going crazy!
The Other Steve
Stupid tard professor resigns.
(Parenthetical Love)
one of us, ONE OF US…..
Sven Forkbeard
@Cris v.3.1:
Put on "Close to the Edge" before you decide who’s the geezer. After almost 30 years, it’s still tha shizzle.
t jasper parnell
At what point, if Obama wins as many whatsits electoral votes as it looks like he might if everything goes the way it seems to be headed — fingers crossed, knock wood, does McCain concede?
passerby
@ gopher2b
I’m having the same kind of thoughts. I don’t think its lame so much as it may be deemed kinda cheesy and sentimental, but, you’ve expressed my sentiments and thinking pretty accurately. So, thanks for going first.
Also too, in the grand scheme, I see her passing as yet another gift to Barack in that the sympathy that people feel towards others at the passing of a family member actually serves to humanize him.
It touches hearts and may change minds. Which is a good thing. No?
Dennis - SGMM
@t jasper parnell:
If he exhibits the same amount of honor and dignity that he’s shown in the campaign, I’d say right after the last, most far-fetched legal challenge has been struck down.
JWeidner
I was working a job in Burbank (I live in southern Orange County, CA) and taking the train every day from San Juan Capistrano all the way up to Burbank. Usually rode Amtrak up to LA, then Metrolink from LA to Burbank. Then came home in reverse – Metrolink from Burbank to LA, then Amtrak from LA to San Juan Cap.
Personally, I loved taking the train. The commute was longer than it would have been by car, but I never had to worry about traffic, never had to get stressed while behind the wheel, could read, or plan an animation, or, best of all, sleep.
The only downside, as mentioned, was that the commute took longer. That was mainly due to the train schedule conflicting with the studio schedule. We worked 10am to 7pm, and the most convenient train schedules are organized around the more typical 8-5 schedule. My ride home involved a 30 minute wait at the Burbank station, and a 40 minute wait at the LA station. So not necessarily the most convenient when it came to schedule, but the benefits SO outweighed that particular aspect.
If I wind up with another job in Burbank, I’d definitely take the train again.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
Dangerman, I’m a huge fan of Neil Peart too (he’s my favorite drummer) but… I think the award for a drummer who went through more shit than any guy should and came out of it with time goes to Rick Allen of Def Leppard.
CletusBleaker
"There is a special place in hell for people who…"
With that comment, I have become a devotee reader to your site. The impact of luggage check-in fees and some of the total cheap-skate idiots that fly these days made me mumble some unsavory comments under my breath on a recent flight to LA. Time for the airline (is there now only one?) to hear from us in force.
Polish the Guillotines
@John Cole:
If you intend to start drinking heavily and you’re on Who jag, then listen to Who By Numbers. Overlooked, underrated, angst-ridden. Awesome times ten.
And (hat tip to Cleek) drink lots of Sidecars.
Yes to Obama, no on 8, and fuck off, Joe the Plumber.
The Moar You Know
@Josh Hueco: This would be stunning news to his wife of thirty years and his son and daughter. I think not.
However, I’ve got some suspicions about Neil. Read a couple of his books, if you can wade your way through the high-school level pomposity, and you’ll see what I mean.
Laura W
@Dennis – SGMM: Aren’t you exhausted? You have been ON FIRE today!
For a 60-yr-old.
Heh.
Still laughing over your wife’s parking technique of this morn.
Comrade Stuck
I am surprisingly calm, at least compared to 2004. It’s like being in front of a firing squad and instead of the customary one gun with blanks, It’s all blanks except for one. And if the worst happens and the live round manages to be accurate, I can just duck and the world gets it between the eyes.
Martin
Teehee. I feel less old. Yes is one of my guilty pleasures. And The Who holds up stunningly well, IMO.
Cris v.3.1
Yeah, that one’s been on my wish list for a while, but I’ve never owned it or heard it. The only other two Yes albums I have are the still-immature The Yes Album and the surprisingly inconsistent Fragile.
Maybe I’ll take your comment as the impetus to finally check it out. It looks like it’s right up my alley — I do like extended album-side tracks.
Comrade Darkness
I like redheads a lot. But, I also like cats that alternate between feisty and grumpy.
Laura W
@JWeidner:
My childhood summer vacations consisted of two-week beach house rentals on Beach Road, SJC. Literally backed up to the railroad tracks.
Weird to be time traveling back with such nostalgia on a night like tonight.
I’m gonna stop now. Just ain’t right, somehow.
But too, also, I do miss the Pacific Ocean something fierce, you betcha.
The Moar You Know
AGREED TIMES 10.
Which is probably why, at the age of 42, I am single and unmarried.
JL
Gee, I was going to watch BBC America but they are going to be talking to John Bolton and Karen Hughes. I only have one bottle of wine and it would take that much to listen to them.
Sven Forkbeard
@ Cris v.3.1:
Better than that, pick up a copy of "Yessongs." Double CD, all live, and you get the full versions of Close to the Edge, Starship Trooper, I’ve Seen All Good People, plus a pillage-worthy version of Roundabout. If you’ve got a good one in your village, you can pick it up at the used CD store for less than a ten spot.
@ Martin:
Agreed. But for the "classic rock" topic, I find few things beat Yes. It’s like the acid trip without the acid. Almost.
t jasper parnell
This Who song is one of my favs. Also TPM’s google map now live.
Juan del Llano
Man, I didn’t like flying before 9/11. Something about those flying flammable sardine cans, I guess. It’s just not dignified. So when they started telling me I had to take off my freaking shoes, I vowed to just drive forever.
Cars are cool. You can do lots more in a car than you can in a plane, and no one will ever be the wiser, maybe.
More tequila! First returns in another hour, yowza!
gopher2b
Thank god for anonymity. :)
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
CNN says they are about to give their first results!
Calouste
@Grumpy Code Monkey:
I think Daltrey was pretty low on the booze and drugs and pretty high on the workouts. I saw the Who in concert in the late 90s and he looked very fit for someone in his mid fifties. But singer’s voices just go when they get older, that’s why all rock bands should switch to the blues when they hit 40.
Laura W
@Comrade Stuck:
Me too, and I know it’s not numb cuz I’m just +1. It’s almost as if it’s already over, in my muddled mind. The polls are absurdly skewed in his favor. I was a freaking mess during the primaries…I mean, almost incapacitated with angst and nerves. But the longer this goes on, the more assured and at peace I feel. Like we ask of those absurdly "undecideds", what more do we want or need to see to believe?
The one and only thing I seem to have retained once the primaries ended was a few smart folks writing: "The press will have to make this a close race." Seems to be the case.
Know hope.
How could it BE any better for our side, given the idiots we share this country with? Like many, including Tweety himself, have said in the last 24 hours:
IT’S FUCKING CHRISTMAS EVE, FRIENDS!
JL
I am not calm. I feel like I’m watching the Red Sox in game 7 with the Yankees in 2004.
t jasper parnell
I am about to vomit and totally unable to do the work I need to get done.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
My family used to open up presents on Christmas Eve too!
srv
Uh, I missed something. Why is John going to DC? Is there a rally there?
jake 4 that 1
Sabbath. Clapton. Hendrix. Pink Floyd. AC/DC though I refuse to buy their "WalMart release only" latest. WTF?
Led Zepplin. But will someone tell me why those ancient ass hats are talking about touring? And not just touring, but touring without Plant? WTF x Infinity
I became strangely apathetic to the Beatles when I hit 18 or so and whenever I try to listen to them: YAWN.
CarolinCA
I have been extremely calm throughout most of this electoral process….mostly because every time I started to get anxious about anything, I’d focus on what I could do to help get Obama elected.
But tonight I’m sort of a wreck. Not sure why. But I’m jittery as hell and can’t focus.
CIRCVS MAXIMVS MMVIII
He wants to be there when the gates of hell open up and accept all the Talevangelicals?
Cris v.3.1
I feel like I’m watching the Lobos play the Aggies in the Pit in 1993. The one where we were up by nine with less then a minute to go in regulation, then lost in 3OT.
jake 4 that 1
If Tunch is anything like my cats he’s chewing on that sucker right now.
Are you in D.C. or did you just pass through? My sympathies if you had to fly into and out of National.
Comrade Stuck
If Mccain somehow manages to pull it out tonight (raps own noggin’), tomorrow I plan to start a new religion. A religion based on a single person and their well being. Lots of daily prayers for the health and longevity of one John Mccain.
Cris v.3.1
@Comrade Stuck:
You’re just trying to get tax-exempt status, aren’t you.
Polish the Guillotines
@jake 4 that 1:
You can order it directly from the AC/DC website, which is what I’m gonna do. Walmart? Not hardly.
Comrade Stuck
@Cris v.3.1:
Why not. I might even hook up with my very own African Witch Doctor– You know. to cast out evil spirits and stuff, It would impress the hell out of Sarah Serendipity.
Alan
What’s not to love about purple hair? :)
cain
Rush is awesome of course.. but you should listen to Porcupine Tree. Lifeson has a guitar solo on their last record "Fear of a Blank Planet". That album was okay, but their previous too is da shit.
I’ve started to listen to Opeth some as well. But I always come back to listen to some Rush. A rush lyric for the moment:
"I’m not giving in security under pressure, I’m not giving up on the promise of adventure, I’m not giving up on implausible dreams, experience to extremes, experience to extremes"
cain
cain
Polls close for Indiana and Kentucky. Kentucky looks like it’s going McCain.. Indiana.. nail biter. I hope we take Indiana. It will give me great pleasure to say: "Indiana kneels to ZOD!"
cain
Dennis - SGMM
@Laura W:
Doffs hat. Thank you. Just fired up about living long enough to cast a vote for Obama.
Phoebe
ha ha ha!
Also, the Kinks. See especially: Village Green Preservation Society.
t jasper parnell
@Phoebe: The Kinks just do not get enough respect.
Dennis - SGMM
CNN has Obama at 50%, McCain at 49% with roughly 62,000 votes counted in Indiana.
Dennis - SGMM
@t jasper parnell:
Always thought that if the Beatles hadn’t existed the Kinks would have their place in the pantheon.
J. Michael Neal
Yes has aged very well, but the band, rather than the music. I am not a fan of their stuff from the 1970s. A lot of their more recent stuff is very good. Magnification is fabulous.
If you like prog rock, and remember who Steve Hackett is, he’s been releasing fabulous solo music for thirty years. His most recent rock album, Wild Orchids is great. Spooky and dark. He also does a lot of classical guitar albums.
At the top, though, is Rush and Mark Knopfler.
J. Michael Neal
Rush is awesome of course.. but you should listen to Porcupine Tree. Lifeson has a guitar solo on their last record "Fear of a Blank Planet". That album was okay, but their previous too is da shit.
Porcupine Tree is great. I’m also a huge Marillion fan.
Comrade Tax Analyst
Hate flying, absolutely hate it. Haven’t done any since around August, 2007, and don’t plan on doing ANY again, if I can help it.
Just got a boxed set of "The Pretenders" the other day and I really like it, so I’ll probably be listening to some of that while I’m watching the early returns. Chrissie Hynde’s voice and attitude…particularly her attitude, are the type of rebellious stuff that should fit well with my mood tonight.
I’m anticipating an Obama victory, of course…not sure what I would want to hear if that did not happen. I’d probably poke my eyes and eardrums out, so it probably wouldn’t matter much at that point.
t jasper parnell
Yes? Mountains come out of the sky and they stand there; twenty four before my love and I’ll be there; or some such blather. Feh
t jasper parnell
Also Yardbirds
Katie
I travel about 2 weeks a month most months, and have for about 10 years. I’ve disintegrated into the ugly traveler. Huge multiple carry ons drive me nuts. If you can’t afford the $15 to check a bag, you really can’t afford to fly somewhere. And don’t give me the story about not having time to wait for checked luggage. I can’t remember the last time I waited more than 15 minutes. I *can* see doing carry on stuff if you have, say, a wedding or something special like that to go to, but not for normal business trips.
When I hop on a plane and can’t find anywhere to put my small bag up top because some fool has the biggest rolling bag you can fit, along with a big *personal* item, and a jacket and a purse, or laptop bag, I’ve been known to pull some of that stuff out and hand to the inconsiderate person taking up an entire bin meant for 9 people. I’m not sure why I should keep my bag at my feet so someone with a bunch of stuff can have all the foot room they want.
If you’re truly unable to walk well, you can still check a bag. Any airline in the US will provide a wheel chair and a person to push it for you. No excuse for massive amounts of carry on. And most baggage claims are right near the ground transportation anyway so if you do walk it’s generally minimal extra steps.
I really wish that airlines would use that size thing before they even let people on the plane. That would solve a lot of problems.
Don’t even get me started on stinky food. I was on a flight a few weeks ago from Seattle to DC and sat next to a guy who ate some sort of horrible rotten cabbage dish. Even after the food was long gone, his breath was enough to make my eyes water and my stomach do flip flops.
ksmiami
God – I missed the Who Rock honors in La by one week and was soooo bummed. Substitute and I’m a boy have got to be two of the most brilliant pieces ever recorded. Pete T. is a true genius.
iluvsummr
@Dennis – SGMM: I love kimchi, but anyone who brings it onto a flight deserves to be shot!
One of my roommates in college was Korean-American and the first time she made something with kimchi, I walked into our suite and asked "what died?" She convinced me to taste it (that wasn’t hard since I use fermented locust beans when I make Nigerian soups and those stink too). I’ve been hooked ever since.