And I will fly no more…

We just got back from our trip to Las Cruces last week and it has taken me this long to get some coherent ideas together regarding the actual trip. I will write soon about the grat time we had out there but this post is about the actual trip there and back.

Flying used to be a magical experience, full of wonder and thrills and providing one of those experiences that you talked about for a lifetime. My first ever airplane trip was a tour of Manhattan, thanks to TWA airlines, which used to offer these free one hour trips out of LaGuardia airport to selected summer camps and school programs. I went on one Sunday afternoon when I was about 10 years old and was enthralled. I have flown to California a couple of times, Virgin Islands, Texas and Oklahoma to visit friends, all before 2001 when flying was changed dramatically. No longer the thrill, now the nightmare. In the last 20 months we have flown to Las Cruces twice and each trip has been more of a hassle and more an invasion of my own personal space and privacy.

Our trip down this time left from Hartford very early on a Sunday morning. Overall the security experience was not bad but because I set off the bells and whistles in the scanner I walked through because of the metal prosthesis I have, I was subject to a pat down. This massage was much more thorough than the one I had experienced last February but by stories I have read, was not too bad. Yes, the TSA agent touched every part of my body including the genitals with the back of his hand but he was gentile, explained each thing he was about to do and did so quickly and quietly. However I was still embarrassed and uncomfortable and even if I opted for a booth to have him do this, would have felt the same. It took a few minutes, was over and done with and I was able to proceed to the plane without further issue.

The return trip out of Chicago was a nightmare that I still am thinking about. The whole day was a nightmare of epic proportions. We left El Paso Texas at noon figuring to get to Hartford about 8 pm. We had a bit of time till we left so we went to gert a bite to eat when Mrsfabp realized we were on a much later flight out of Chicago, one that did not leave there till 10 pm. After some phone calls we found out our original flight had been cancelled but no one informed us of this fact. Thus we had a long layover there. This bad news was immediately followed by our trip thru El Paso security. Because of my previous experience, I opted for the full body scan, given the choice. I informed the technician of the prosthesis and stood with my arms raised in the scanner. What happened next left me totally out of sorts. I was originally informed that opting for the scan was in lieu of the pat down which is why I chose that course but after leaving the scanner I was told I would be pat down too. They took the wheelchair I was in to check it. They took my cane to check it. They took my belt to check it. I had to stand, unsteadily, with loose pants, while undergoing a complete pat down, the most vigorous I have ever had. Every area checked twice. EVERY AREA. It was rough and I was uncomfortable from the start and it seemed like it lasted 10 minutes. I was surrounded by 3 different TSA officials most of the time. I was not expecting it as I was scanned and no one told me why it happened. I felt violated and vowed at that point to think about some other options.

When we arrived at Chicago we ate and wandered the terminal for a while where it was evident something was up. Flights were being delayed left and right. Gates were changed, arrivals were late and the general ambience of the masses was aggravated. No one told us anything. We got our first hint when after boarding the plane, the pilot stated that it was a 90 minute flight after we took off and we would be trying to avoid a “little weather” in the northeast. We waited 30 minutes to take off and flew for about 45 minutes until we saw what a “little weather” was. It began as lightening flashes off in the distance that rapidly got closer. The ride, already bumpy, became a roller coaster ride. The pilot was trying to get around the edge of the storm and we were buffeted repeatedly, dropping, swerving and generally scaring all of us. A woman in front of the plane was crying. A couple people in the back were sobbing. I was scared, maybe more than I have ever been in my life and to be honest felt sometimes as if we were not going to make it. It lasted about 20 minutes, the longest 20 minutes I have experienced and was seemingly over as quickly as it started. This essentially sealed the deal for me. What fun is it to fly if all they do is embarrass you and grope you and then scare you half to death. No, there must be an alternative.

First chance I had, I looked up Amtrak on the internet. There are trains scheduled out of Boston or Springfield or Albany that get us to Albuquerque, NM in 48 hours, through Chicago. The cost is 20% less than the air fare. There is no TSA on the rail lines. Now trains, that seems like a relaxing, romantic way to travel, for sure…