April 5, 2013

One of the reasons I look forward to flying on Delta is because their flights often offer WiFi via their GoGo service. I have used it before and it’s actually quite an impressive service.

When it works.

This is the second flight out of the last three that has had a broken WiFi connection. There are placards all over the plane exclaiming WiFi, but GoGo is a NoGo yet again. The flight attendants have also announced that the coffee maker is broken and that they forgot to put beer on the plane. Hot tea is also out because without a coffee maker you can’t have tea.

Now granted, these are all first world problems and there are many, many, many more horrible things in the world, such as the child that is bouncing up and down on the snack table that is attached to the back of my seat. Why there are two young children flying this late at night is a little behind my admittedly old-fashioned comprehension, but to have one of them bouncing themselves on the snack table is making me really wish someone had remembered to put the beer on the plane this evening. Especially since departure was delayed due to catering dragging their feet.

On the plus side, my economy comfort seat is quite nice with lots and lots of legroom in front me. It was worth the extra $40, especially since it comes with a vibrating chair that is now making wailing noises.

And I thought the child that communicated through random noises that sounded like “bip bip bip” the other night at Panera was bad.

I’m curious as to whether other gentle readers who fly Delta have the same issue with GoGo being a NoGo. Perhaps it should be “Went Went” because NoGo is just a little too obvious.

As a quick aside and mostly unrelated topic, I find it humorous that NCR calls their point of sale software “RealPOS”. When I see that, I see “real piece of shit”. Nice!

The child is now bouncing around at a higher velocity and apparently has a saggy diaper because the smells coming from the row behind me resemble something I smelled once in a conference room at work on Taco Day.

Perhaps the kid needs a taco.

“Are you sure you don’t have a beer? I’ll even drink something really warm”, the passenger pleaded.

Nothing.

My next flight will definitely be in first class. Even if we have to take a second mortgage on the house for the luxury. Hell, I’d even sell some of my swimmers to fund a first class trip.

Let someone else deal with the bouncing on the tray table.

So I’m on Delta flight 6163 en route to Detroit. Once there I must make a quick connection to Delta flight 5611, which will take me to Raleigh-Durham, where I am spending the weekend with friends doing creative endeavors.

Creativity is good.

I’ve mentioned before that I really love flying, and tonight is no exception to the rule. When we took off from Syracuse I had a big smile on my face because I could imagine all those times playing in the backyard at Grandma City’s house and watching the jets fly overhead as they made their way in or out of the airport. Flying over tonight I was able to spot that backyard with ease and it made me happy.

Looking out the window right now, we are over the southern tip of Ontario on the shores of Lake Erie.

Earl and I have been actively talking about our retirement years, though they’re still a ways off. We are going to live elsewhere someday, which makes me happy, and we’ve talked through the pros and cons of having a winter home and a summer home. Other than the beauty of our current home, I have little desire to stay where we are, though I wouldn’t mind if our summer location was in the Syracuse area. Of the Upstate New York cities, that’s the one I feel most comfortable in, and for obvious reasons. I’ve tried others on for size and they just don’t fit right. There’s something about the vibe of Syracuse that fits like a well-worn t-shirt, and I like that feeling.

Back in it’s day, Syracuse was known for the work ethic its citizens had. There are still elements of that in the Salt City but as with everything else in this day and age, times change. I still think Syracuse has a good future ahead of her, if she puts her mind to it, and I’d like to be around to see that future.

The other day Earl sent me a text message telling me he’s ready to go on an adventure driving across the New Mexican desert. If pressed to pick the winter location at this moment, it would have to be Albuquerque. We have been there a few times and I have always enjoyed the visits. I might have to take Earl up on his vacation suggestion and head out that way with the Jeep. Our next big Jeep adventure is to Wisconsin, Arkansas and all points in between, but it’s never too late to plan the trip after that.

We need to win the lottery.

If we did win the lottery, Syracuse would still be in my hopes for our winter location and we’d have more money to explore places like Albuquerque.

We have started descending. I should probably bring this documented daydream to a close.