Leaving on a Jet Plane

There is one part of traveling that I would certainly change if I could.  That would be the excessive wait times between flights.  Then again, the long flight times are also a major pain in the bum.  Really, is it too much to ask for some Star Trek-level technology that would allow for instantaneous transportation?  Then again, there are some amazing chances for people watching.  Right now, my attention is split between a woman with blond dreads and multiple tattoos, and a little girl and her mother.  Frankly, the woman is just a lot of fun to occasionally stare at.  The little girl is more actively entertaining.  Her mother attempted to take a picture in front of the large plane getting ready to board, but the kid decided her time would be better served running back and forth in front of the window instead.  I can’t say that I really blame the kid.  Sure, she doesn’t truly have any idea how long she’s going to be asked to sit still on a flying steel tube, but any time spent moving and walking around beats standing still.  Or at least, that was always my philosophy when I was 3…as well as yesterday. 

Watching this young child reminds me of something that I have encountered many times while flying.  That would be young kids who are 500% done with being on a plane.  Personally, I don’t get too upset over these kids acting out (though let’s face it I may be understanding of acting out, but it doesn’t mean I appreciate the screaming).  While parents try to keep their kids entertained, it’s frankly cruel and unusual punishment to ask a young child to sit still for more than 10 minutes.  There are occasions where kids are willing to stay in one place, but that’s really only under their own volition, not because mom, dad, or anyone else wants them to.  Therefore, I could never quite understand the people who would get unaccountably angry at the parents of small (screaming) children.  Now, I don’t have children, but I’ve done enough babysitting to know that there are occasions where even the best parent has a kid who will act out.  Truly, I think Buzzfeed has the best take on this phenomenon, as seen here.

My parents once flew from Hawaii to Chicago, and there was a family with two small children, one of whom cried almost the whole way.  People glared at the parents, and muttered things under their breath.  It got to the point that not only were the kids crying, but so was the mom.  Obviously those people didn’t know that making the mom upset would only cause the child to feed off her discomfort and cry more.  My parents were actually sitting across the aisle from this family, and they tried to distract the children and reassure their parents that they weren’t upset by the children’s behavior. 

For anyone out there who would react the same as my parents, way to go!  For those who would react with anger: if you have kids, please remember that parenting is the toughest (albeit, I hear, the most rewarding) job there is, and you need to cut the people sharing the job title of 'parent' some slack.  If you don’t have kids, try to remember what it was like when you were quite young and hated sitting still.  Not to mention, I know some adults who are scared by plane rides, so why do we expect all children to be completely chill with the experience? For all involved…try to ignore the situation if you can, or—if you feel comfortable doing so—pull some silly faces or play an impromptu game of peek-a-boo.

Then again, there’s also a third option wherein you use your scientific mind to create the first functioning transporter, thereby making plane rides and being forced to listen to screaming children for hours on end a thing of the past.  Personally, I like that option the best (however, I have the furthest thing from a scientific mind, so I will have to rely on others).  Though it will put a serious dent in my silly-face-pulling time.  I’ll just have to make that up with other random strangers I meet on the street.  Those lucky, lucky strangers :D

Wow, sorry for the tiny rant.  See, this is what happens when I'm given too much time to wait ;)

0 DAYS AWAY!!  Flying out today.  Budapest, here I come!!