A Hundred Years (Short Story) - 4/25/2018 12:56:10 AM
A poignant story! Nearing the end, she was surrounded by people who celebrated her life, regardless of who they were.
Flight Attendant (Short Story) - 9/22/2017 5:59:24 AM
Your story took me back to the early days of flying and when flying became more commercial and every day. I haven't flown for over 20 years because of my difficulty flying with paralysis. Before that, I flew frequently, including flying around the world.
In the early days, only the rich could fly. Flight attendants, then called stewardesses, had to be registered nurses because there was always the threat of illness or injury that had to be taken care of quickly on board. However, by the time I started flying, the 707 had revolutionized flying and made it more affordable every year although all stewardesses were still women and they had to be beautiful like the woman from my high school who became one. But the duties changed from making the passengers safe and comfortable to becoming well-dressed waitresses serving drinks to drunk, smoking passengers who made passes at the stewardesses every chance they got.
What I liked about flying in those days was talking to fellow passengers and enjoying the chats. I always found people who slept on planes to be either frightened of flying or sleep deprived. There were the magazine readers, but once you got their attention, they usually would open up and talk. Flights went quickly when there was good conversation.
It's all about business. Everybody flies even though driving might be a better option. Airlines now fill cattle cars with people who fly on the spur of the moment if they have the cash and find the whole process so boring that they have their noses in their smart devices until they fall asleep from boredom. Men have entered the "flight attendant" realm as waiters to people who don't tip them and demand things they don't need, often angry and willing to fight over ridiculous things.
Soon this will all change. Rich people will fly subspace at ridiculous speeds. Average and poor people will take the supersonic train between cities and who knows if anyone will ever converse with anyone in these venues again. We are all quickly becoming a part of the lonely crowd.
Ron
