|
Robert A. Mills, click here
to update your web pages on AuthorsDen.
|
|
|
|
|
Blogs by Robert A. Mills
DIPLOMAT OR DEMOCRAT – PART ONE 3/27/2010 9:43:30 AM
My fascination with aviation began when I was old enough to appreciate the magnitude of Charles Lindbergh flying non-stop alone across the Atlantic in a rickety monoplane with five sandwiches, a canteen of water, and no radio. My greatest disappointment in the field was when the United States terminated its efforts to develop a Supersonic enterprise and France and Great Britain finally abandoned it altogether in 2003, grounding their fleets of Concorde aircraft, seemingly forever.
Of course, transportation by air has changed radically since the year 2000. No longer is it a luxury to be enjoyed by the privileged few—it has gone the way of the cruise ship, with the possible exception of certain trans-oceanic diehards. Board any commercial flight today and you’ll swim with bottom-feeding tilapia: hirsute tattooed Neanderthals in shorts, flip-flops and tank tops, most so obese they are required to purchase two seats in which to encase bulk that often defies description—not to mention their hysterical progeny who not only are beyond control and decorum, but actually smell bad.
Of course, none of these derelicts travel as I once did just for the sake of wanderlust. "For my part," wrote Robert Louis Stevenson, "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." Old RLS was a man after me own heart!
One gorgeous fall day in 1977 I was nearly taken into custody in London for knocking on the door at No. 10 Downing Street and asking the guard if I might have a word with the Prime Minister. Unbeknown to me, James Callaghan was not in residence, and the whole episode was on a dare, anyway—the Bobby on duty, convinced I was just another irresponsible, irascible American, did not call for back up; he shooed me away, suggesting I get lost—or at least seek counseling at New Life Outlook.
Returning to my hotel, I received a call from an old friend, ****** ********, the District Sales Manager for British Airways. “Are you homeward bound tomorrow?” he asked, fully aware that we were, as he had, a fortnight ago, issued our first-class tickets himself. “If so, there are a couple seats on our Concorde with your name on them, if you’d care to switch over.”
I barely slept that night, in anticipation of the most exciting event of my life up to that point. Flying from London to Washington (Dulles) in 3½ hours, at 1,350 mph, at nearly twice the speed of sound, was to be my la plus grande aventure, my piece d’resistance!
British Airways kept its Concorde terminal, with dedicated customs and check-in counters, isolated and separate from other segments of its operation, even to the parking and drop-off facilities at Heathrow. Our flight was scheduled for ‘wheels up’ at 13:03 hours GMT—a flight, with sub-stratospheric headwinds, of less than four hours. We entered the antiseptic white and pale blue of the Concorde’s elite Club Churchill a full hour before departure.
I went to the first of four elaborate check-in counters and approached the most beautiful airline clerk I had ever seen, a dead ringer for Diana Rigg. Her name, revealed by the thin British Airways medallion pinned to her crisp, starched blouse, was Rosalyn Crumpe. Had I been a movie producer, I would have immediately cast her in every blockbuster on my agenda.
After she politely and solicitously did her magic with our old tickets and proffered passports, we were escorted to the exclusive lounge through double doors that, when closed behind us, shut out all sounds of airport activity; it was as though a thick, transparent and weightless marshmallow had suddenly surrounded us, and we were breathing the rarified oxygen of scrubbed, bathed and dry-blown luxury. I glanced at our tickets—Ms Crumpe had returned the passports, boarding cards and baggage receipts—and everything was now in rich black calfskin wallets embossed with gold British Airways - Concorde above our names in ornate script. Handsome waiters and comely waitresses seemed to appear from nowhere to offer champagne in crystal flutes, as well as canapés of caviar, lobster bits and sundry other delicacies on sparkling monogrammed china and Ecru hemstitched linen cocktail napkins.
We giddily joined the touristes gais as they munched and talked and laughed and drank while the other passengers relaxed about the room with anticipation and anxiety, modestly resplendent amidst wide leather chairs and gaudy sofas, or casually standing in clusters on dense Westminster broadloom, reveling in the good fortunes of affluence, be it fact or fiction. It was as though life’s dreary mantle of millstones had been shed at last; acceptance of circumstances over which control had long been relinquished were best left to the masses outside, doomed as they were to fly on odoriferous and lugubrious 707s, 747s and old DC-9s and de Havillands.
Woe to unlucky me, this was years before the Molton Brown Travel and Spa facility was available to British Airways’ Concorde passengers, and I was denied the joy of a massage and shower that later travelers could experienced while luxuriating in special ‘treatment’ rooms.
However, it was soon time to board the Concorde—looking out the broad bay windows at one end of the lounge we could see the great white bird, its majestic beak drooping as if awaiting the crack of the starter’s pistol, parked two hundred yards away. Suddenly, there was a vague, almost imperceptible jolt under the thick blue carpet as the entire room slipped away from the terminal building and advanced toward the plane on silent balloon tires the size of small cottages.
Crawling at the speed of an infirm snail, the Club Churchill delivered its passengers to the side of the Concorde with nary a canapé dropped nor a sip missed, and when an entire wall disappeared to give us access to the boarding ramp, we merely stepped from one lavish enclosure to another to find our assigned seats.
As we came aboard, an entirely new crew of ebullient and handsome servers relieved us of our champagne flutes, only to replace them with fresh ones.
Presenting our boarding passes, we were escorted to 4 A and B.
TO BE CONTINUED
Copyright©2010 by Robert A. Mills
Post a Comment new!
More Blogs by Robert A. Mills CANTANKEROUS - Saturday, May 18, 2013 BOATS - Saturday, May 11, 2013 BALANCE - Saturday, May 04, 2013 USPS - Saturday, April 27, 2013 TAXES - Saturday, April 20, 2013 AUDITION - Saturday, April 13, 2013 NASHVILLE - Saturday, April 06, 2013 BOXER - Saturday, March 30, 2013 COLUMNS - Monday, March 25, 2013 VIETNAM - Saturday, March 16, 2013 ΣAM - Saturday, March 09, 2013 WHOA! - Saturday, March 02, 2013 TWO - Saturday, February 23, 2013 QUITTER - bonus - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 GHOSTS - Saturday, February 16, 2013 VALENTINE - Wednesday, February 13, 2013 FBI - Saturday, February 09, 2013 WOOLLEY - Saturday, February 02, 2013 GRUMPY - Saturday, January 26, 2013 FORMAL - Saturday, January 19, 2013 PATTY - Saturday, January 12, 2013 OFFENDED - Saturday, January 05, 2013 LOVE - Saturday, December 29, 2012 CHRISTMAS - Wednesday, December 26, 2012 PEPE - Saturday, December 22, 2012 TIME - Saturday, December 15, 2012 TIME - Saturday, December 15, 2012 UGA - Saturday, December 08, 2012 MASS - Saturday, December 01, 2012 SLF - Saturday, November 24, 2012 THANKSGIVING- a bonus column - Wednesday, November 21, 2012 ASSASSINATION - Saturday, November 17, 2012 POLL - Saturday, November 10, 2012 YOGI - Wednesday, November 07, 2012 VOTE - Saturday, November 03, 2012 REACH - Saturday, October 27, 2012 WASTELAND - Saturday, October 20, 2012 58% - Saturday, October 13, 2012 WACKO - Saturday, October 06, 2012 REVIST - Thursday, October 04, 2012 DEBATE - An addendum - Wednesday, October 03, 2012 CRASH - Saturday, September 29, 2012 VEEP - Saturday, September 22, 2012 BUGLE - Saturday, September 15, 2012 DELTA - Saturday, September 08, 2012 ANNIVERSARY - Saturday, September 01, 2012 INCA DINKA DO - Saturday, August 25, 2012 METH - Saturday, August 18, 2012 PHELPS - Saturday, August 11, 2012 UPDATE EXTRA - Wednesday, August 08, 2012 CHICKEN - Saturday, August 04, 2012 OLYMPICS - a review - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 SUMMERTIME - Saturday, July 28, 2012 SHOOT! - Saturday, July 21, 2012 PUN - Saturday, July 14, 2012 DECISION - Saturday, July 07, 2012 FREE - Saturday, June 30, 2012 EXTRA! - Thursday, June 28, 2012 ANNIVERSARY - Saturday, June 23, 2012 REHEARSAL - Saturday, June 16, 2012 BELMONT - Saturday, June 09, 2012 1% - Saturday, June 02, 2012 DERIVATIVES - Saturday, May 26, 2012 MEDICARE - Saturday, May 19, 2012 CRIME! - Saturday, May 12, 2012 POTTER - Saturday, May 05, 2012 BUCKHOUSE - Saturday, April 28, 2012 SOX! - Saturday, April 21, 2012 SOL - Saturday, April 14, 2012 CONTEST! - Saturday, April 07, 2012 JUSTICE! - Saturday, March 31, 2012 SUITS! - Saturday, March 24, 2012 BOBBYS - Saturday, March 17, 2012 NUNDA FUN DAYS – PT II - Saturday, March 10, 2012 NUNDA FUN DAYS - PART 1 - Saturday, March 03, 2012 HUTSON IS ONE! - Thursday, February 23, 2012 TôT OU TARD! - Saturday, February 18, 2012 MINE! - Saturday, February 11, 2012 SOUP! - Saturday, February 04, 2012 BUCK STOP - Saturday, January 28, 2012 FOLLIES - Saturday, January 21, 2012 MISFITS - Saturday, January 14, 2012 MOHS - Saturday, January 07, 2012 GOODBYE! - Saturday, December 31, 2011 CITY SLICKERS -- Week of Dec 24 - Saturday, December 24, 2011 HEADLINES - Saturday, December 17, 2011 FIRE! - Saturday, December 10, 2011 YEP, THE SKY IS FALLING! - Saturday, December 03, 2011 HOBNAIL BOOTS - Saturday, November 26, 2011 GIRL o’ WAR - Saturday, November 19, 2011 CAIN IS NOT ABEL - Saturday, November 12, 2011 JOHNNY CAN’T READ - Saturday, November 05, 2011 HOLY SMOKE! - Saturday, October 29, 2011 CELL PHONE - Saturday, October 22, 2011 60 MINUTES - Saturday, October 15, 2011 BANKS CLOSED - Saturday, October 08, 2011 ANNUAL PHYSICAL - Saturday, October 01, 2011 A T W IN 80 MINUTES - Saturday, September 24, 2011 HUTSON! - Saturday, September 17, 2011 A TIME TO REMEMBER - Saturday, September 10, 2011 TOMB AT ARLINGTON - Saturday, September 03, 2011 GUNFIGHT AT DODGE CITY - Saturday, August 27, 2011 NOTHNAGLE - Saturday, August 20, 2011 A CLUTTERED BELFRY - Saturday, August 13, 2011 CFS, FOR SHORT - Saturday, August 06, 2011 THE MINSTREL SHOW - Saturday, July 30, 2011 BIRTHDAY BOY RIDES (MARTA) AGAIN - Saturday, July 23, 2011 KNOCK, KNOCK! WHO’S THERE? DEATH! - Saturday, July 16, 2011 COMMENCEMENT - Saturday, July 09, 2011 234th 4th OF JULY - Saturday, July 02, 2011 MIDNIGHT RIDE OF BOORTZ/DUPREE - Saturday, June 25, 2011 OH, MY PAPA (& MAMA, TOO) . . . - Saturday, June 18, 2011 ROLLING STONES - Saturday, June 11, 2011 I DOUBLE D’AIR YA! - Saturday, June 04, 2011 WOW—SUM BEACH - Monday, May 30, 2011 GRAMP ON THE TOWN - Saturday, May 21, 2011 THE UNSOCIABLE NETWORK - Saturday, May 14, 2011 DING DONG, THE WICKED SUMBITCH IS DEAD - Saturday, May 07, 2011 KATE PLUS MATE - Saturday, April 30, 2011 GOP IS TRUMPED - Monday, April 25, 2011 SNIFFING JOCKS IN ATLANTA - Saturday, April 16, 2011 BOEHNER BLINKED - Saturday, April 09, 2011 ROY ROGERS - Saturday, April 02, 2011 SWEAT MORE, BLEED LESS - Saturday, March 26, 2011 HE STILL DESERVES BETTER - Saturday, March 19, 2011 AFTRA & EARTHQUAKES - Saturday, March 12, 2011 ALEX IN WONDERLAND - Saturday, March 05, 2011 THE OSCARS - 2011 - Wednesday, March 02, 2011 FIRST BIRTHDAY, PART THREE - Thursday, February 24, 2011 FIRST BIRTHDAY, PART II - Tuesday, February 22, 2011 MY FIRST BIRTHDAY - Saturday, February 19, 2011 IDES OF FEB, MINUS ONE DAY - Saturday, February 12, 2011 FUN AT THE ICE PALACE - Saturday, February 05, 2011 VACATION FROM HELL - Saturday, January 29, 2011 BARBERSTOWN CASTLE - Saturday, January 22, 2011 TRYING TO TAKE TUCSON – a bonus blog - Wednesday, January 19, 2011 THE “BOBBYS” - Saturday, January 15, 2011 POLITICS 101 - Saturday, January 08, 2011 THE SNOWS OF KILIMANGEORGIA - Saturday, January 01, 2011 WRITER'S CRAMP - Saturday, December 25, 2010 BELLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY - Saturday, December 18, 2010 PATTY ROBERTS, Part Two - Wednesday, December 15, 2010 SECRET SANTA - Saturday, December 11, 2010 PATTY ROBERTS - Thursday, December 09, 2010 GETTING MY GOAT(EE) - Saturday, December 04, 2010 IN FLIMFLAMS FIELDS . . . - Saturday, November 27, 2010 PLYMOUTH ROCKS - Saturday, November 20, 2010 LACED FOR ACTION - Saturday, November 13, 2010 PEER PRESSURE - Saturday, November 06, 2010 POLL CATS - Saturday, October 30, 2010 FRIENDS - Saturday, October 23, 2010 MY COUSIN DOUGIE - Saturday, October 16, 2010 LOBSTER POTTED - Sunday, October 10, 2010 A PRECIOUS GOLDEN BOBBY - Thursday, September 30, 2010 THE KING IS DEAD (or at least in his throes) - Saturday, September 25, 2010 STAND PAT - Saturday, September 18, 2010 EGGS ROSAKOVIA - Saturday, September 11, 2010 POLL CATS - Saturday, September 04, 2010 KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE - Saturday, August 28, 2010 (Bonus Blog) BUT WHO’S COUNTING? - Wednesday, August 25, 2010 PEANUTS AND CRACKER JACKS - Saturday, August 21, 2010 LUCKY STRIKE GREEN - Saturday, August 14, 2010 AMERICARE vs. OBAMACARE - Saturday, August 07, 2010 THE MAN WHO WOULD (temporarily) BE PRESIDENT - Saturday, July 31, 2010 THE WEDDING - Saturday, July 24, 2010 BUTTERFLIES ARE HAPPY - Saturday, July 17, 2010 HATTERS ARE MAD - Saturday, July 10, 2010 WHAT DOES THE BOSTON TEA PARTY AND THE REPUBLICAN TEA PARTY HAVE IN COMMON? - Friday, July 02, 2010 MILQUETOAST HEADLINES - Saturday, June 26, 2010 JAMIE DUPREE DESERVES BETTER - Saturday, June 19, 2010 WHAT BARACK OBAMA AND HELEN THOMAS HAVE IN COMMON - Saturday, June 12, 2010 GRANDNIECE LEIGH IS OFF TO HONDURAS - Saturday, June 05, 2010 MEMORIAL HOLE-IN-ONE - Saturday, May 29, 2010 GRANDNIECE EMILY GRADUATES - Wednesday, May 26, 2010 THE MOON IS ROQUEFORT - Saturday, May 22, 2010 LENO VS. O’BRIEN – TEMPEST IN A TV POT - Saturday, May 15, 2010 A SHOT IN THE DARK - Thursday, May 06, 2010 THE SOUTH SHALL RISE AGAIN – NOT - Saturday, May 01, 2010 MARS OR BUST - Saturday, April 24, 2010 A CUP OF TEA - Saturday, April 17, 2010 THE TAXMAN COMETH - Friday, April 09, 2010 DIPLOMAT OR DEMOCRAT, PART THREE - Saturday, April 03, 2010 DIPLOMAT OR DEMOCRAT, PART TWO - Wednesday, March 31, 2010 DIPLOMAT OR DEMOCRAT – PART ONE - Saturday, March 27, 2010 . . . BY ANY OTHER NAME WOULD SMELL AS SWEET - Wednesday, March 24, 2010 A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME . . . - Saturday, March 20, 2010 WHAT’S IN A NAME? - Wednesday, March 17, 2010 SQUEAKY’S FLEETING FAME - Saturday, March 13, 2010 ATTICA REVISITED - Wednesday, March 10, 2010 MARK MY WORDS - Saturday, March 06, 2010 RADIO HALL OF FAME - Wednesday, March 03, 2010 THE BEST HAS COME (and gone) - Saturday, February 27, 2010 SWEAT MORE, BLEED LESS - Wednesday, February 24, 2010 MY FIRST BIRTHDAY - Saturday, February 20, 2010 IDES OF FEB, MINUS 1 - Wednesday, February 17, 2010 THE ENOLA GAY - Saturday, February 13, 2010 SUPER BOWL XLIV 2010 - Wednesday, February 10, 2010 EARTHQUAKE - Wednesday, February 03, 2010 AURA LEE - CONCLUSION - Sunday, January 31, 2010 THOUGHTS ON STATE OF THE UNION, ETC - Friday, January 29, 2010 AURA LEE - PART 21 - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 AURA LEE - PART 20 - Saturday, January 23, 2010 AURA LEE - PART 19 - Wednesday, January 20, 2010 SLAINTE, AER LINGUS! - Bonus Blog - Monday, January 18, 2010 AURA LEE - PART 17 - Saturday, January 16, 2010 AURA LEE - PART 16 - Thursday, January 14, 2010 BONUS BLOG – TRUTH BEHIND JAY LENO’S DEPARTURE FROM PRIME TIME - Monday, January 11, 2010 AURA LEE - PART 15 - Saturday, January 09, 2010 BOGUS BUT PERTINENT EMAIL - Bonus Blog - Friday, January 08, 2010 AURA LEE - PART 14 - Wednesday, January 06, 2010 AURA LEE -- PART 13 - Saturday, January 02, 2010 AURA LEE -- PART 12 - Wednesday, December 30, 2009 ALEX'S SECOND CHRISTMAS - Bonus Blog - Monday, December 28, 2009 AURA LEE - PART ELEVEN - Saturday, December 26, 2009 AURA LEE - PART TEN - Wednesday, December 23, 2009 ALEX'S FIRST CHRISTMAS - Monday, December 21, 2009 AURA LEE - PART NINE - Saturday, December 19, 2009 AURA LEE - PART EIGHT - Wednesday, December 16, 2009 BONUS BLOG - CHESS WITH PATTON - Monday, December 14, 2009 AURA LEE PART SEVEN - Saturday, December 12, 2009 AURA LEE PART SIX - Wednesday, December 09, 2009 AURA LEE PART FIVE - Saturday, December 05, 2009 AURA LEE PART FOUR - Wednesday, December 02, 2009 AURA LEE PART THREE - Saturday, November 28, 2009 AURA LEE PART TWO - Wednesday, November 25, 2009 AURA LEE PART ONE - Friday, November 20, 2009 ROGUE'S GONE - Monday, November 16, 2009 NEW YORK, NEW YORK PART VI (concluded) - Friday, November 13, 2009 NEW YORKM NEW YORK PART V (continued) - Monday, November 09, 2009 NEW YORK, NEW YORK PART IV (continued) - Friday, November 06, 2009 NEW YORK, NEW YORK PT III (continued) - Tuesday, November 03, 2009 NEW YORK, NEW YORK PT. II (continued) - Friday, October 30, 2009 NEW YORK, NEW YORK! IT’S A WONDERFUL . . . - Monday, October 26, 2009 THE ICE PICK BOY HOAX - Friday, October 23, 2009 YES, WE ARE COLLEGIATE! - Monday, October 19, 2009 BULL'S EYE! - Friday, October 16, 2009 Nobel Peace Prize - Monday, October 12, 2009 WHAT TO MY WONDERING EARS . . . - Friday, October 09, 2009 EARLY A.M. CALL - Monday, October 05, 2009 FLOOD STORY - Friday, October 02, 2009 PLAY ON, GEORGIA! - Monday, September 28, 2009 SEE Y’ALL, IF’N THE CREEK DOAN RISE! - Friday, September 25, 2009 "POPCORN" THEATER REVISITED - Tuesday, September 22, 2009 OPEN WIDE - Friday, September 18, 2009 CAMELOT IS CLOSED - Monday, September 14, 2009 HEALTH CARE, ANYONE? - Friday, September 11, 2009 MARTYRDOM - Monday, September 07, 2009 CLOSE THE POOL! - Friday, September 04, 2009 THE WEEK BEFORE LABOR DAY - Tuesday, September 01, 2009 MORNING JOE - Friday, August 28, 2009 LIPS THAT TOUCH WINE . . . - Monday, August 24, 2009 KING TEDDY - Friday, August 21, 2009 SHOP TIL YOU FLOP - Monday, August 17, 2009 MOVIES ARE BETTER THAN EVER (?) - Friday, August 14, 2009 THE BIRCH JOHN SOCIETY - Monday, August 10, 2009 EVERYTHING I KNOW I LEARNED FROM SAM SPILLIOPOLIS AT THE PASTIME POOL ROOM - Friday, August 07, 2009 SHORT PEOPLE - Tuesday, August 04, 2009 ANDY ROONEY - Friday, July 31, 2009 CHERNOBYL 7.28.09 - Monday, July 27, 2009 ACTING STUPID 7.25.09 - Friday, July 24, 2009 JUSTICE FOR SOTOMAYOR 7.21.09 - Monday, July 20, 2009 ONLY AS OLD AS YOU FEEL 7.18.09 - Friday, July 17, 2009 THE NATIONAL RADIO HALL OF FAME - Tuesday, July 14, 2009 BIRTH OF THE TEDDY BEAR 7.11.09 - Sunday, July 12, 2009 (Close Counts) 0NLY IN HORSESHOES 7.7.09 - Monday, July 06, 2009 MAD AS HELL . . . 7/4/09 - Friday, July 03, 2009 4th OF JULY - Wednesday, July 01, 2009 HOBBIES? - Monday, June 29, 2009 LONG WAY FROM BUCK HOUSE - Friday, June 26, 2009 NAVAL ENGAGEMENTS - Monday, June 22, 2009 REGINA BRETT IS NO LADY BRETT ASHLEY 6.20.09 - Friday, June 19, 2009 JULY 4th's A-COMIN'! - Monday, June 15, 2009 WINNING THE LOTTERY - Friday, June 12, 2009 THE TONIGHT SHOW - Monday, June 08, 2009 PERSONAL DISCOVERY CHANNEL - Friday, June 05, 2009 Jon and Kate, The Great Debate - Monday, June 01, 2009 Philadelhia Lawyers - Friday, May 29, 2009 MEMORIAL DAY 2009 - Monday, May 25, 2009 La Isla de los Alcatraces 5/24/09 - Saturday, May 23, 2009 CONFESSIONS OF AN INTERNET IDIOT - Thursday, May 21, 2009 HAIL TO THE BOSS - Monday, May 18, 2009 SAY CHEESE . . . - Friday, May 15, 2009 NUMBER, PLEASE . . . - Tuesday, May 12, 2009 AND THEY'RE OFF! - Saturday, May 09, 2009 Some Enchanted Evening - Tuesday, May 05, 2009 Fox Boycotts Obama - Friday, May 01, 2009 RAILROADED - Tuesday, April 28, 2009 NAKED GNOMES - Friday, April 24, 2009 THE EYES OF TEXAS ARE UPON ME - Tuesday, April 21, 2009 THE TEA PARTY - Friday, April 17, 2009 HAPPY INCOME TAX DAY! - Wednesday, April 15, 2009 THE FAIR TAX PLAN - Monday, April 13, 2009 THE REST OF THE STORY 4/10/2009 - Friday, April 10, 2009 A SPORTSMAN'S PARADISE - Monday, April 06, 2009 IF AGENTS & BEST SELLERS ARE A DIME A DOZEN, HOW COME WRITERS AIN’T RICH? - Sunday, April 05, 2009 BONUS BLOG 4.4.09 - Saturday, April 04, 2009 TYCOON! - Tuesday, March 31, 2009 End of Year Report - Sunday, November 02, 2008
|
|