We Put the Error in Air Travel

The older I get, the more anxiety I have about flying. In order to get through it and remain sane, I think you need to a bit of a sense of humor about it all.

Now we usually fly Midwest Airlines because it's always been convenient. However, our last couple of experiences with them have been so bad that I'm considering taking legal action to force them to drop their Best Care In The Air slogan on the basis that it's a flat out lie. And while I do enjoy a couple of warm chocolate chip cookies as I'm flying through the clouds, it's no longer enough to hang their hat on.

Here's the basic gist of our latest excursion. I successfully printed out three of the four boarding passes needed from home the night before our flight. When I called the airlines to find out why I couldn't print the last one I was told it was because of security reasons. So we arrived at the airport early the next morning and stood in line to get the boarding pass. My husband knew we were in trouble when we got up to the counter and the ticketing agent said, "What do you want?" We explained that we needed my husband's boarding pass which after much confusion she finally printed out. Later we were to find out that it was for the same seat they had already assigned my father-in-law. So much for security.

Speaking of security, that was the next line we waited in. Nothing too out of the ordinary there...although I do feel strange about walking barefoot through the detector. Once you we got past security and gathered all our belongings, there was a little area set aside to get reorganized. In Milwaukee, there is a special name for this area with a sign and everything...it's called the Recombobulation Area.

The thing that struck me as so hysterical about this is that it actually is incredibly appropriately named and everything leading up to that point can be aptly referred to as the Discombobulation Area.

Once we got all recombobulated we moved on to our gate. While I was sitting there waiting, I pulled out my new earplugs that are supposed to help alleviate the discomfort of landing. Being that it was the first time I was to use them, I decided to read the instructions on the back. Here's a little game for you...see if you can find the four errors in the instructions.

In all fairness, the flight was smooth and on time. It set the tone for the rest of the weekend in New York which flew by (pun intended).