Put This End In Until You Hear A Click

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The train was supposedly going 100 mph when it crashed.

There's a strange trust placed in the people who are tasked to get us from one place to the next. I find it distracting to even think about the pilot.

I don't want to see what he looks like.

I don't want to know if he's in a bad mood.

I'd rather that he or she remain anonymous.

Being a safety consultant I also don't want to know if there have been recent safety problems associated with my plane, train or bus.

So I usually enter quietly.

Sit in my jammed in seat... and before you say it, seats on planes are tough for everyone... and think about NOT crashing.

I don't think of it long.

Yet I also wonder about the safety spiel they offer. Can't it be safe to assume that we all understand the concept of the safety belt?

If you have to listen intently to the attendant speak about how to click it.... you might be the dumbest person on the planet.

Can't we stop with that little safety discussion and maybe check to see if the pilot is ready to take a nap while he's at the controls?

I have a couple of other suggestions as well.

1). No meals allowed - I sat next to a gigantic guy on a plane who was intent on eating a full Chinese food dinner. Noodles, egg rolls and General Tso's chicken.

It was a 2 hour flight!

Remember... he was basically sitting in my seat with me. It was also only about 10 a.m.

"Seriously?" I asked.

He just shoveled it in.

2). Let's be nicer. When the little guy is standing on his tip-toes trying to jam a huge suitcase into a small space, you don't have to scream at him. In the same respect when you delay the flight for the 3rd time and tell a whole bunch of people that they aren't going home when you said they were... you could show a little compassion.

3). Look where you're going and know that if you come to a sudden stop in the middle of a full terminal someone is going to run into you... and it's your fault!

"You can't just stop," I said to one clueless dimwit.

"Sorry," he grunted.

When that happens I should be able to hammer the guy into oblivion.

Yet when it's all broken down....

... there's nothing fun about traveling.

Yet it most certainly shouldn't be deadly.

Let's spend less time on the seat belt tutorial and more time on knowing if the guy or girl behind the wheel is ready to go.

And no Chinese food in the seat next to me!

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