Lost (and Found) in the Clouds
February break is upon us. Many local families will take flight (literally). I recently traveled via air to California and found myself contemplating the massive changes that have occurred in airline travel since my youth. (Yes…it was after the Orville and Wilbur era.)
For example:
– One used to be able to arrive at the airport a mere 20 minutes prior to a flights departure.
– Travelers could bring 8-ounce bottles of shampoo along with them, without fear of confiscation.
– A cigarette was perfectly acceptable on board as a stress-reliever. The seats even had ashtrays. Ugh!
-A person could only fly first class if he or she was fabulously wealthy. Upgrades had yet to be conceived.
Although now smoke-free, air travel has become rather complex and exhausting. One must remove shoes, laptops, and liquids prior to boarding. We grumble when we are bored by an in-flight movie or our flights are delayed.
However, we should never take for granted the power of flight. We can be in Westchester one day and in Europe, Hawaii, or a remote exotic island the next. A mere 100 years ago that would have been impossible. So what if you may need to be patted-down first by a random stranger or if your luggage may vanish en route? At least you won’t have to endure a stagecoach ambush or an iceberg. And perhaps you might even enjoy warm mixed nuts and wi-fi along the way.
Want more nostalgia? Here’s a great source of random trivia about flight attendants.
Nancy A. Shenker has lived in Westchester for 22 years (40% of her life). Her business, theONswitch marketing, located in Yonkers, specializes in combining traditional time-tested marketing strategies with new media (including social media). She works with businesses 
nationally (and, thanks to technology, can sometimes even work in her pajamas). She is also the CEO of a new publishing venture, nunumedia and just launched a series of business comic books.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.