The Plane, The Plane!

Recently I took a trip to Texas to see my family. Unfortunately Jon was not able to come this time, but he did a good job at keeping the home fires lit. I’m not exactly sure but I think he did a good job at polishing off some beers, too, along with playing a little Golden Tee down at the Buckskin….but I digress.

Living in a small town is both a blessing and a curse. I love that it is so quiet and slow here. I don’t’ even mind being so far from shopping, or a real movie theater. What I really hate is traveling anywhere of significant distance. It’s an hour and a half drive from Kanab to St. George where we can catch a puddle jumper to Salt Lake and then fly direct to most places. But when you have to drive 80 miles, then get on a plane for an hour, then have a layover and get on another plane for 3 or 4 hours, it can be daunting. Plus it always takes a little more time getting home because of headwinds. Anyway, last Wednesday en route to Houston I flew from St. George to Salt Lake in the middle of a snow/rain storm. Which is really no big deal as the crow flies, but in a smaller prop plane you can really feel (and see) the turbulence. Following are some notes from a journal entry of sorts that I composed on the plane.


2/20/08

7:05 PM
Out the window the aircraft’s light shines underneath the prop. I can see the ice & snow coming at us in horizontal sheets only cut by the power of the propeller. Some stupid lady next to me across the aisle in 8C just received (and answered) a phone call on her cell phone. IDIOT. If we go down because of instrument interruption I’m beating the shit out of her. What’s worse is that I think she is a Skywest employee. She was in line before me through security. I was a little taken aback when she commented on some man who was checking in at the kiosk. “I didn’t know you could choose seat assignments at the kiosk!! I’ve never seen that before!”. (Who doesn't know this--an employee no less!) She and her male companion were traveling standby. The final reason I think she’s an employee? She’s wearing a hot pint sweater with “Skywest” and their logo on it. Dumb.

7:35 PM
So I just looked up from my crossword puzzle and noticed our flight attendant “Debbie” has taken a seat behind stupid lady and they are chatting. She is from Dillon, Montana. Aha! Stupid lady in pink sweatshirt does work for Skywest, I was right! She has for one year. Moved to St. George to take care of her parents who are in their 80’s. Is it just me or does an on-duty flight attendant chatting in the seat next to you slightly creepy? Like isn’t there an unspoken rule –like when you eat in a restaurant—the waiter can’t just sit down at your table and start snacking on your appetizer and make small talk. Weird.

Just dug my iPod out of the depths of the bottom of my carry on buried under the seat in front of me. Music will save me. Keane - Somewhere Only We Know.

Dammit! One minute 48 seconds into the song & I gotta turn it off. We’re descending now. @#$%^

Did I mention the drive from Kanab to St. George is longer than the flight from St. George to Salt Lake? There’s something not right about that.

7:55
Someone farted (not me). It’s a horribly confined space and I am trapped. Thank God we’ve landed.

The GOP

The Republican Party, the party of values!

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Representative Rick Renzi, a Republican from Arizona who isn't seeking re-election, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in an alleged scheme to profit from a land deal.

Renzi, 49, who was first elected to the House in 2002, was charged along with James Sandlin, 56, a real estate investor and one of his political backers, and Andrew Beardall, 36, an attorney who had been general counsel of Renzi's family insurance business. Renzi and Beardall are accused of embezzling money from insurance clients to fund the lawmaker's congressional campaign.

Duke Cunningham, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, and now Rick Renzi. What a bunch of good guys that care and uphold solid family values.

Laf.

New York Times Article

Tomorrow morning the front page of the New York Times will be featuring an article about the Vick (aka Victory) dogs we are rehabilitating at the sanctuary. The article is here. Read and discuss. Insider commentary to follow shortly....