As I pack for my upcoming trip I think about the long flight ahead with both excitement and dread. As a standby traveler I am never sure of which seat I will have. Will I sit for 11 hours in the middle of 5 seats in the back of coach? The opportunity to have a stranger's head on my shoulder as they bob in and out of restless sleep is a distinct possibility! Then again, I might get a business class seat or, if I'm really lucky, I could score one of the last remaining first class seats across the Pacific. I pack my carry-on with ear plugs, eye mask, lip balm and neck pillow in anticipation of being stuck in my seat overnight. But, if the standby gods look on me favorably, I may get a premium class seat where I'll be able to watch movies with my feet up, lean my head on a fresh pillow and enjoy some wining and dining before I drift off into sweet slumber. Which one will it be? I won't know my fate until the flight starts boarding so wish me luck!
Whether I sit in coach or premium class, the one thing I always treasure is a window seat. From a seat next to the window I can turn my head away from the seemingly endless stream of fliers coming down the narrow aisle, bumping their backpacks, thump thump thump, against the seats as they search overhead to read the row numbers, hoping to find room for their overstuffed bags and crossing their fingers that they will luck out the seat next to them will remain empty. Instead, next to a window, I can raise the shade and turn my attention to the planes that come and go on the tarmac, to the glittering lights on the runways and finally to the ground below as the world gets smaller and smaller and we climb higher and higher into the clouds.
I love to see the highways that are usually filled with traffic, become gentle streams crisscrossing the landscape. I love to see the neighborhoods turn into a live view of Google Earth. I love to see what the tops of the clouds look like. I love the way even the dreariest foggy day turns sunny once I'm 35,000 feet above the ground. As I fly over rivers and mountains my high school geography class comes to life as I finally see what Mr. George meant when he described tributaries and buttes. Atolls and volcanoes, I've see those too! Keeping my eye on the sky, the stress of life melts away and my thoughts drift to memories and dreams of what my trip will bring.
