Lookin Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 A friend of mine gets jittery days before he gets on a plane. Statistics don't mean anything to him. He picks a window seat behind the engine and watches the whole way to Brazil. He averages one trip a year. I suggested a mild sedative which he pops when he gets on the plane. It helps, but I can't recall a single time when facts alone overcame feelings of anxiety. Reason and emotion are different things, and the best I can do is listen. I used to enjoy air travel and it still doesn't bother me once I'm on the plane. It's the hassle of navigating to, from and through the airport that keeps me close to home these days. That and the peanuts. 🙁 mike carey and + sync 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinbrooklyn Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 22 hours ago, EZEtoGRU said: I’m more concerned with the quality of the on-board service of US carriers than I am about the plane crashing. I’ve never seen such a sorry state of service on domestic U.S. flights in almost 40 years of heavy flying. I normally fly in the premium cabins. Even transcons in the First or business cabin have turned into a real shitshow. Anyway, that’s a topic for a different thread. It is dismal. I feel sorry for the cabin crews who put up with so much . . . + sync 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 2 hours ago, sync said: ... In any event "ducking out" is not the way I would like to be remembered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ sync Posted August 23, 2023 Author Share Posted August 23, 2023 2 hours ago, Lookin said: A friend of mine gets jittery days before he gets on a plane. Statistics don't mean anything to him. He picks a window seat behind the engine and watches the whole way to Brazil. He averages one trip a year. I suggested a mild sedative which he pops when he gets on the plane. It helps, but I can't recall a single time when facts alone overcame feelings of anxiety. Reason and emotion are different things, and the best I can do is listen. I used to enjoy air travel and it still doesn't bother me once I'm on the plane. It's the hassle of navigating to, from and through the airport that keeps me close to home these days. That and the peanuts. 🙁 I can totally relate to your friend. There was a time when I would consult with one of my old friends before boarding (Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, I.W. Harper, Old Grand-Dad). Things were pretty good when I boarded the plane, but, as soon as I heard the whine of the engines, my friend was gone. Lookin and EZEtoGRU 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbar123 Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 I’m more worried about being shot in a random attack. When I get on a plane I’m never worried about that. Especially in the continental US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ The Big Guy Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 I don’t worry about my safety while traveling. I get nervous anticipating the inevitable delays, rescheduling, and boarding headaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 On 8/23/2023 at 8:32 AM, sync said: ... if your statement had shown more sentence structure rather than dependence upon punctuation... Punctuation matters. Correct punctuation can save lives! 😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuriousByNature Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 There's a difference between a phobia or irrational fear and trying to constantly protect oneself. I stopped worrying about 'what might happen' when traveling because I realized when your time is up, your time is up. Everything we do has some level of risk attached - even staying at home. So I would rather travel and potentially live a shorter life if an accident were to happen, than stay at home 'safe and sound' and regret all the things I sacrificed along the way. For me it would be a sacrifice, but for others, perhaps not. liubit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ sync Posted August 24, 2023 Author Share Posted August 24, 2023 1 hour ago, CuriousByNature said: There's a difference between a phobia or irrational fear and trying to constantly protect oneself. I stopped worrying about 'what might happen' when traveling because I realized when your time is up, your time is up. Everything we do has some level of risk attached - even staying at home. So I would rather travel and potentially live a shorter life if an accident were to happen, than stay at home 'safe and sound' and regret all the things I sacrificed along the way. For me it would be a sacrifice, but for others, perhaps not. You have a point, however, these days travelling to a local concert, movie theatre, supermarket, faith service, school, sports event, mall, or just about any other stay-at-home or near-home activity can get your ticket punched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuriousByNature Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 19 minutes ago, sync said: You have a point, however, these days travelling to a local concert, movie theatre, supermarket, faith service, school, sports event, mall, or just about any other stay-at-home or near-home activity can get your ticket punched. Very true. And it can be scary. I think in my 40s I reached the point where my indignation about the state of the world and my defiance cancelled out the fear I may have had. And now that I am within weeks of turning 50, I feel even more emboldened by realizing I probably only have another 60 or 70 years left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ sync Posted August 24, 2023 Author Share Posted August 24, 2023 11 minutes ago, CuriousByNature said: Very true. And it can be scary. I think in my 40s I reached the point where my indignation about the state of the world and my defiance cancelled out the fear I may have had. And now that I am within weeks of turning 50, I feel even more emboldened by realizing I probably only have another 60 or 70 years left. I applaud you. Living in fear is not living. CuriousByNature 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ jessmapex Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, CuriousByNature said: stopped worrying about 'what might happen' when traveling because I realized when your time is up, your time is up. I am too not worried about when my time is up. With a plane, my biggest irrational fear was about those few seconds / minutes of sheer terror as it fell out of the sky. Imagining what the passengers of the Alaska Air flight 261 went through in 2000 when the plane crashed into the Pacific ocean just northwest of LAX used to give me night terrors. It took them 12 minutes to crash. For the last few minutes before the crash the plane flew upside down (like in the Denzel Washington movie Flight ). Edited August 25, 2023 by jessmapex + sync and CuriousByNature 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuriousByNature Posted August 25, 2023 Share Posted August 25, 2023 5 minutes ago, jessmapex said: I am too not worried about when my time is up. With a plane, my biggest irrational fear was about those few seconds / minutes of sheer terror as it fell out of the sky. Imagining what the passengers of the Alaska Air flight 261 went through in 2000 when the plane crashed into the Pacific ocean just northwest of LAX used to give me night terrors. It took them 12 minutes to crash. For the last few minutes before the crash the plane flew upside down (like in Denzel Washington movie Flight ). That would be terrifying... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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