WELCOME TO THE FRIENDLY SKIES
The plane
bumped as it taxied to the runway. Don’s
head was glued to the window. From behind I could see the deep dimple in the
side of his cheek. The pilot’
s announcement
that we were ready for take off sent the stewardesses scurrying to their seats.
Andy kept
readjusting Don’s head so he could see out the window. As we started down the
runway, Andy held his watch up to check the time, I supposed—no it was to time
the take off. I smiled.
“Look, Don,
we’re in the air.”
“Yeah,” Don
nodded. “That side too!”
Scientifically,
Andy noted that we were now flying between two cloud layers. If his older
brother, Rob, were sitting here, he would be naming the types of clouds and
spouting the average temperature outside and probably calculating the humidity
at this altitude. I glanced down the aisle. Rob was buried in a book. His twin,
Ron, however, hormones surging was zeroing in on available girls in the right
age range.
I knew I
had made the right seat choice as I noticed Cheryl leaning across the aisle,
asking questions of her dad. He would probably be asleep soon and wouldn’t even
hear her anymore. Her constant line of questions would have driven me crazy.
My ears
popped again. The roar of the jets changed as we reached cruising altitude and
leveled off. The no-smoking sign went off.
Frantically,
the smokers around me began to light up. I took one quick breath of fresh air
before the cloud of smoke settled in.
We played
musical chairs as the family vied for the one window seat we had gained. Rob
took his turn as we neared Orlando. His running commentary on geography and
topography kept Andy entertained until landing.
So does anyone miss the cigarette smoke? Not me!
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