It seems there's some outrage over the House deciding that the best choice for spending $12 billion of the $26 billion of taxpayer's money they came back early from vacation to re-allocate, (Vacation from what, I wonder? What on earth do these people really do?) is to take the funds from those needing food to survive and giving it to people who're losing jobs because they're either not needed, poor performers, or both.
Either way the incumbents think they'll make out best, because even if the one's who should have gotten the money for food decide to revolt, they'll likely die of starvation before election day while the new recipients guarantee 160,00 sure votes in November. Looks like a slam-dunk win/win idea for shaky incumbent Congresspeople to me.
It's no wonder that even Michael Gibbs, the White House Press Secretary thinks these folks are on the way out of office and likely beyond hope or help.
Then there's the flight attendant who flipped out yesterday and jumped off the plane at Kennedy Airport in New York. I was truly surprised. What surprised me though, was not that he bailed out, but that it doesn't happen more often. Because, what flight attendants have to put up with today is beyond belief, and I wonder how they can take the abuse and disrespect heaped on them by brain-dead, often stoned or inebriated passengers, loud mouths, boors and best of all, unmanned, unmanageable, spoiled-rotten kids, and not go berserk.
I traveled significantly over thirty years for business reasons. I have no idea how many flights I've taken. For seven of those years, my "home" office was in Framingham, Massachusetts, but I resided on Long Island in New York. Therefore, I flew back and forth roughly 85% of those weeks, or approximately 618 flights. Since we had twenty five other offices across the country, if not flying to Massachusetts, the other weeks, I flew somewhere else. That's another 110 flights, including vacations.
While the other twenty-three years or so weren't so flight intensive, there were still plenty of trips, so let's say they averaged 10 a year. That adds another 460 flights to my total. My arithmetic tells me that's 1,188 flights all told.
I mention it because, having flown that much I've seen a lot on airplanes and have an understanding of what flight attendants put up with, especially today. Years ago for example, air travel was proportionally much more expensive than today. So, without trying to sound elitist, pompous or naive, those who flew were likely more socially sophisticated, the majority business people. And, it's not that these folks with some bucks can't get stoned, tanked or otherwise totally obnoxious, because they certainly can and do. But, back then, they didn't often do it on airplanes.
Beyond that, except for business folks who flew routinely, flying was an "event" for most others. People actually dressed for flights as if the trip was an occasion. So, when the stewardesses (this was pre-"Flight Attendant,") gave their orientation speech before take-off, people actually listened.
Over the years, not only has the cost of air travel reduced, but there are more aircraft, more airports and an incredible number of flights. Thus, the law of averages alone says, the bozo probability among passengers has become immense. There are passengers flying today who shouldn't be allowed within twenty feet of another human being, much less sitting in a crowded aircraft.
And while there are many stories of flights I've been on where strange, funny or scary events took place, I'll get to those in later blogs. But, after providing some background of where my opinion of air travel stems from, I think the attendant on the flight from Kennedy should have thrown the passenger down the chute and then had a beer himself. And, had I been on board, I would have helped him.
That's it for today folks.
Adios
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