Some Thoughts on Flying...

Last week I flew out to Toledo, Ohio. On my connector flights to and from Chicago Midway I had crying children in the row in front of me. This got me thinking. Why don't we shame parents that bring toddlers and babies on flights longer than an hour and a half?

Am I wrong in saying that bringing a baby or a toddler on a plane is inconsiderate. Maybe it's just me, but when you decide to have a kid you have forfeited your right to be a normal person for at least 5 years. That means there are restrictions on taking your kids flying, taking them to movies so on and so forth. It's not punishment. It's common courtesy. No one wants to be trapped in a movie theater with a crying child. And that sentiment goes double for being trapped in a metal tube hurdling through the air at 500 miles per hour. Seriously, this isn't like a movie were you can leave the theater if your kid gets out of handed. The parent, the baby and everyone else are trapped on the freaking plane, we can't move, we can't walk out.

So here is my plan. Have small camera is those overhead compartments with the lights and the air ventilation things. When a kid starts uncontrollably crying a flight attendant turns on the camera and the whole scene is broadcast throughout the plane. Now, this may seem strange but let me explain. One, it shames parents. It will hopefully make someone think twice before they travel with their screaming bundle of joy. Second, it lets the rest of the plane know whats going on. Nothing is worse than not being able to see what is causing all this crying. I sat through this plane flight thinking, "is the kid hungry, are they uncomfortable, are the performing a circumcision on a new born?" I need answers. I wan't to know why this already uncomfortable flight is being made even more torturous. Best case scenario some other parents on the plane can shout out advice or instructions that will help calm the kid down.

Lastly, I was flying Southwest which has Spirit Magazine. I have never actually opened the thing. But while I was on the flight someone sitting across the aisle I saw that there was a "Letter to the Editor" page. I was dumb founded. Who in the hell rights a letter to Spirit Magazine! Who has the time, the energy and most importantly, motivation to write a response letter to Spirit Magazine. I hope to God that none of those letters are real.

More flying observations and rants to come...