Retirement Talk
WHAT to do with the rest of your life? |
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Episode 024 – Retired and Traveling by Plane -
Mexico
Here I sit at 39,000 feet and feeling miserable. My eyes
burn; my butt is numb. Is there a secret to flying that I have not figured out?
I hope so. Maybe together we can make travel a little more tolerable for us
folks who are not as pliable as we use to be.
This is Retirement Talk. I’m Del Lowery.
My mother never wanted to travel via plane after reaching
her mid seventies. Neither did my in-laws. I know several people over the age
of seventy who resist all but the most urgent need to fly the friendly skies.
Most of we retired can recall when flying was a luxury. We would put on some very nice clothes, look
forward with excitement to the trip, and marvel at air power. I remember when
Western Airlines was flying out of
Alaska
in the 1970s. They offered a triangle flight out of
Anchorage
that went to
Seattle
,
San
Francisco
, or
Los Angeles
.
For another ten dollars you could book a return flight through
Hawaii
: ten dollars. Of
course, you could stop as long as you wanted in
Hawaii
. They also served food on real
plates, and it was an entire meal; salad, entree, and desert. They used real
glasses, and they served you all the free champagne you could drink.
My how times have changed: today I am crowded on a plane
that was over-booked. There is no leg room for we that are over six foot in
height. The seats are so narrow that everyone walking down the aisle bumps into
my shoulders – and my friends think of me as skinny. For food, I am offered a
tiny bag of pretzels. I can buy something that they refer to as a sandwich. If
I want to extend my flight in any way, shape or form, I first need to pay them
one hundred dollars; just for the privilege of changing the ticket. Then I will
need to pay the extra fair.
Of course, on top of all of that other stuff, I am
practically strip searched at the gate. Off come the shoes, empty my pockets,
take off my belt, take off my hat, turn all of my belongings over to an x-ray
machine and stand under the glare of several armed security people: people who
are big enough to enforce most laws and yet appear young enough to still be in
school.
But here I am, at 39,000 feet; cruising at 550 miles per
hour in a self-contained vessel breathing all of the air exhaled by the 200
plus passengers – half of which seem to be coughing up TB germs. I recall a
flight to
Anchorage
for a Christmas holiday where Brenda and I both contracted the flu bug. We
spent our entire two week trip with high fevers, throwing up, and lying in a
darkened room - oh what fun! I do muster up a little empathy for the young
mothers on this flight with screaming toddlers in diapers. I’m sure none of
them are having any fun.
I know; I don’t have to go. I don’t have to fly. I can just
sit at home and play my guitar, drink coffee at the local coffee shop, and
exercise in my own neighborhood. (It sounds very good to me at the moment.)
But, I am off on an adventure. Peurte Vallarta calls. A home exchange has been
arranged. Free lodging and warm sun during cold, wet Northwest winters are hard
to refuse. We always find reasons. We don’t want to admit, that for us, the
time for exotic travel may be a thing of the past. We now like a bit of luxury.
And by that I mean more than a bag of pretzels and legs pressed against our
chin for hours on end.
We arrived. I am now writing from this beautiful condo just
south of Peurte Vallarta – Conches Chinas. The water smashes against the sand
and rocky beaches below. The blue water and sky run together endlessly out our
walls of windows. Pelicans fly over-head. The condo is all white with high
ceilings. Lazy fans run in every room; earth red tile floors throughout the
place. Mexican music plays on the stereo – not loud enough to drowned out the
crashing surf. Twelve straight hours of sleep has restored energy to my body
and I am so glad we came. What a marvel air travel is!
But I am still concerned about it. Is there a way to make
these journeys a little less arduous; or really, a lot less arduous? If anyone
has suggestions please contact me through retirementtalk.org and I will be
happy to include them in a follow-up program.
I want to follow this program up with a few more posting
from my winter retreat. Many of you might be contemplating a visit to
Mexico
someday and I will try to share some of our experiences.
This is Retirement Talk. I’m Del Lowery.
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A friend's website: Terra Firma Designs: Fine Furniture, Stained Glass and woodworking workshops.
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