Remember when flying was considered glamorous? Back in the 50's and 60's, people even dressed up for it. Even if they flew one time in their life, on that day, they would be a "jet-setter," eating gourmet meals at 30,000 feet.
After the bloom was off that particular rose, we started to see flying in a more utilitarian way. Yes, it was a hassle--the schedules were off, the planes crowded, the food not food--but it was fast and we learned to live with the hassles in order to take advantage of the speed.
Then, 9.11 happened. What had been a difficult situation became an ordeal. First, you had to show up two hours early for your flight. In most cases, the flight itself isn't that long. Let's say you were going to Albuquerque. It's an hour and a half flight to Albuquerque from Denver, but arriving two hours early has upped your total travel time to three and a half hours. Now, add in the 45 minutes it took to drive to the airport in the first place, and you're up to 4 hours and 15 minutes. If you need to rent a car in Albuquerque, add another half hour. Total travel time is now around 5 hours. You can drive it in 7, and still have your car!
Then, they added in more security restrictions, so that you had to take your shoes off, and your belt, and anything else with metal larger than the rivets on your blue jeans--oh yes, you quit wearing a suit a long time ago. As you're taking off your clothes, you also have to get your laptop out and put it in a separate basket while at the same time worrying about any inadvertent items in your bags or on your person that might trigger being "pulled to the side."
Jeralyn now avoids flying, and so do I. If it's under a 12 hour drive to get to my destination, I'll be driving.
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