This is a missed Blog entry folks, so please forgive the bounce back in time to early September and mentions of flights to Alaska.
O.M.G.I.C !!!!!!
Oh My God It’s Cold!!!
Today I flew from California to Alaska.
Two weeks back I flew from the Middle East where it was hot and humid.
I’ve hung out much of my time since in Los Angeles where it is warm and gorgeous.
This morning I touched down in Seattle where it was overcast and cool.
I have just ended my day arriving in Juneau, Alaska where it is HELL ALMIGHTY FREEZING.
My father used to say of temperatures warmer than this, that the cold goes though you to the bone!! Well my bones are close to brittle today ! !!
Making the impact of the cold weather tougher was my mode of transport to this den of frozen climactic conditions.
Decades of business and first class even Private jet travel ended today.
For today I flew….Middle Class !
What is that you ask?
Well , It’s when you’re on a plane so small that there is no designations such as first, business and cattle and the only way to describe the class that you find yourself in, on the aircraft is to take a good look at those seated on this tiny air bound cigar and summise their earning potential.
Today there were just eleven of us poor souls aboard this tiny tube with wings, and a rough guess at each person’s salary put their earning capabilities at around 120k per person before tax.
So you see. I flew Middle Class.
No Stars, no politicians, no excessively wealthy people just bumming it for the day. Just a group of eleven who make a menial, not major difference to anything in the world.
Had the plane gone down today in the Alaskan wilderness we would probably made page one of the Juneau Daily Herald, but I doubt that any of the rest of you would have been any the wiser to our fate. Our facebook pages would go un-updated, our emails unanswered and you would have thought us snobbish, but have no clue as to what had truly happened to us. The Alsakan eleven that is.
Anyway !!
Adventuring around the earth again I want to explain some of my global travels and the shift in priorities it has brought James Claire -new age tourist and middle age “tripulante”…
As I travel I am noticing differences in pilots and the teams they command in regards to air safety….
Middle East to LA the pilots are so assured of your safety..They barely speak English and so their messages are brief. Flight crew mumble a few words but the majority of talking is left to smart modern digital screens which inform you via animated cartoons of how to survive an “event”.
Flying from LA to Seattle , real people show real concern about the safety demonstration, they even put on real life jackets to show you what to do, in the case of an “Emergency” and treat us all like morons by actually clipping a belt and buckle together like we are 3 years olds who have never sat in a car seat.
From Seattle to Juneau sitting in the cramped cigar tube with eleven others, the pilot, whom we can actually see, turns and gives us all a smile and a wave.
Friendly character, his name is Roger (not that I really want to know the man who has my life in his hands, because by seeing him I can sum him up and it’s not a good thing for Roger. I suddenly wish I was back in the Middle East watching animated cartoon characters)
Instead of a smart digital presentation or scripted announcement Roger merely yells at us.
”It’s 2 degrees in Juneau, Buckle up folks, it’s a bit windy today.”
And then I believe he mumbled a “Hail Mary” and signed the cross.
And the stewardess, where was she???
Well she was outside kicking a couple of rocks from the tires and cranking the propellers for Roger and a little too busy to be bothered with something as mundane as a safety presentation.
After all, she could see what I could tell.
There were no notables on board today, no famous stars, no elite or massively wealthy travelers on her little plane who would make headlines and nothing but trees and mountain tops that we would barely clear.
On a day like today, what was the point with safety speeches.
Just buckle Up, sit back and pray like a crazed man.
2 degrees on arrival might not be desirable, but arrival right now, was the only thing any of us in Middle Class, where hoping for.
29.10.2011
As an addendum to this Blog entry, which was written at the beginning of a hellish few weeks of massive amounts of travel, I have to say that I am not so scared any more about air travel. It has its pains, such as customs, immigration and security issues but within the confines of an airport there is always a Starbucks somewhere and usually somewhere warm to sleep. In just three months of my new life, these are about the most important things in my day, coffee to stay awake, or sleep at any cost.
Besides, there is a bigger game at play these days.
It’s not so much about survival as much as it is about the accumulation of miles…..yes my friends…James Claire has the bug.,. Just like George Clooney’s character on Up In The Air, I too have found the modern world of Privilege Clubs, Frequent Flyer Mileage and Hotel Priority Membership.
IF IT DOES NOT GAIN YOU POINTS, THEN IT IS IRRELEVANT….
If only my editors paid me in mileage points by the word…mmmmh, now there’s a thought !!!
Till next time Adieu !!!
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