Flying is important to the revolution

I am on a plane to Seattle. Wow! Fucking technology rules (MS word says this sentence is incorrectly phrased). Ok, technology mostly rules. I am excited to be on a plane and typing for the first time every. I would be more excited if the “h” key on my flimsy Dell keyboard had not fallen off the first time I opened my laptop. I hate Dells. I say this with passion and meaning. I did tech support for 2+ years and I formed a lot of strong opinions about certain products. Dell was one of them. I had to call tech support to figure out how to open one of their poorly constructed cases. The guy on the phone could hardly tell me how to do it. Anyway, back to flying. I love flying. I have loved flying ever since I was a little girl. There is something empowering about flying…I guess weird empowerment issues is the topic of this blog! I love getting on the plane and fastening my seatbelt, waiting for that rush as the thrust of the plane lofts you into the air. What a high. I travel fairly often and have just come to love the feeling of it - the anticipation that tingles through my body as I get my boarding pass, the exciting anxiety I feel as I go through security – will they stop me, will they search me? They’ll never take me alive!! ARG! Just kidding. I’ve been searched a couple of times. I’ve never in to the airport screaming “Viva La Revolution!!” But I have thought about it. Today when I went through I stripped down almost to my underwear. I took off my belt, my jacket, my shoes. It was pretty crazy, but I didn’t get stopped. I also have a strange affinity for shopping at the airport. I never really buy anything, but I love going into all of the strange little shops and checking out all of the places to eat. Today I saw a bicycle toy shop w/lots of antique pictures of bicycles. Go figure. Who would have thought that a shop like that would be at the Denver airport. Seems more like something that would be at the Mall of Hell. I also enjoy people watching in these situations. Lately, there’s been a lot of people decked out in their “patriotic” flag wear. It’s a little bit thick in the Midwest and basically makes me want to wretch. It’s much more exciting to people watch at airports in big cities, like LA. Not so many flags, just lots of Louis Vuitton handbags and cell phones.

The important thing about flying right now is to not be afraid. M. and I flew only about two months after 9/11 and so many people were surprised. I was upset that they were so shocked. Why the hell wouldn’t I fly? They have considerably beefed up security – see note above – and not flying means that they have won. I don’t just mean “they” as in those men who flew those planes into the WTC and the pentagon. I mean “they” as in the fear mongering morons in power. They live to make us afraid so that they can fuel their pointless war machine and ask us to buy a bunch of crap that will make us feel “safe”. This illusion that we can ever be safe is such a crock and is something I’m sick of hearing about. We can make ourselves emotionally safe to some extent, but never really physically safe. People in power and in the media would have us believe that “unsafe” looks and feels a certain way. Tell that to the girl who gets raped by her boyfriend or the woman who gets abused by her handsome rich husband. No one can predict what can happen, not GW, not the illustrious Dick Cheney…NO ONE. “Unsafe” doesn’t have a face or a name. It isn’t something you can put your hand on or buy an alarm to warn you about. You just have to have fait and know that whenever you leave your house - or hell, even at home! - you are not safe. Listening to the lies of the media and Washington puts us in an unsafe place emotionally. This unsafe place is a constant state of fear. Yes, I know things will never be the same. And they’re not. But that doesn’t mean we have to take what others say at face value. Live life…be happy! Besides, you could get hit by a bus tomorrow and where would you have spent your last hours? Hiding at home watching Wolf Blitzer or Mr. O’Reilly and stockpiling weapons? Or out enjoying a drink with a friend, laughing, singing and enjoying a beautiful spring day. Or better yet, on a plane somewhere to some far off exotic providence like Bellevue, Washington. If my plane goes down, I know that I have had a great run of it. I told my husband I loved him and kissed the cat. I will not regret getting on board because I know I did so without fear.