15 Tips for Flying

I’ve learned several lessons about airline travel in the past few years.  My job requires me to travel, not extensively, but enough that I have gotten quite good at the process.  In no particular order:

1. If the cost to upgrade to first class is $50 or less, and the flight is over 90 minutes (and you can afford it), DO IT!  The extra leg and butt room make it a small price to pay.
2. Check your main bag if you are travelling for more than one day.  There’s nothing worse than trying to navigate through a crowded airport with a bag in tow.  I tried it both ways and I prefer not to deal with keeping up with it.  Plus, you can bring gallons and gallons of hair care projects instead of 3 oz.
3. Make sure you ID has not expired!!!!  It’s not impossible to get through security with an expired license, but it’s much easier when it’s still valid.
4. Unless you are going directly to a meeting, dress comfortably.  I’m all about wearing flip-flops, shorts, and a T-shirt.  I look more like an overweight homeless beach bum than a business person.
5. Before you go through security, empty your pockets.  I put all my change and keys in my backpack as soon as I get out of my vehicle.  I also wear slip on/off shoes and keep my belt in my backpack until I get past security.  I’m all about the hassle we are put through by TSA, to keep our flights safe.  Be extra nice to these folks.
6. Bring a backpack or other SMALL carry-on that will fit underneath the seat in front of you.  Requirement – an actual book made of paper (instead of glass, plastic, and electronic components).  It takes 10-15 minutes to get in the air and the same to get down, when use of portable electronic devices, including cell phones, pagers (pagers?), laptops, iPads, iPods, portable televisions, electronic readers, blenders, remote control helicopters, is prohibited.   That’s too much time to sit idle.  I also suggest you bring a notebook and a writing tool.  Great ideas strike in high altitude.  Wet wipes, tissue, magazines, pain relievers, are some other items you might consider.
7. Don’t recline your seat.  It only feels like 1/8th of an inch to you, but like 2 feet to the person behind you.
8. EARPLUGS are a must.  If there’s a crying baby on the plane, he WILL be sitting behind you.  Nothing against crying babies.  I am one from time to time.
9. Use the bathroom every chance you get in the airport.  The john on the plane is only large enough for children under 5.
10. If you’re staying in a hotel, don’t pack shampoo, conditioner, or soap.  I have my preferred brands, but even the cheaper hotels include those in the rooms, and I can survive a few days using Breck.
11. Granola is my friend.  Airport food is not as expensive as theme park food, but it’s not the best value.  I keep a few granola bars in my backpack.
12. Keep and frequently use hand sanitizer.  You can’t help but brush against surfaces that 1,000’s of hands have touched within the last hour.  I’m don’t suffer from mysophobia, but I am a proponent of good hygiene.
13. Pack light.  Often you can wear the same pair of pants or socks twice.  Extra under garments are fine.
14. Don’t get an airport massage.  That’s all I’ve got to say about that.
15. Be extra courteous to EVERYONE you meet.  The person standing at the gate isn’t responsible for a flight cancellation. I’ve watched people get U-G-L-Y with these people.  At the check-in desk in Phoenix, a customer service person was apologizing for the long lines.  I told her it was no problem at all.  She looked up and smiled at my wife and I.  She then told us of a man earlier in the day, that yelled at her because he was going to miss his flight.  He said he was a surgeon and if she were on his table, he’d let her die.  WHAT?  I was dumbfounded.  She said it’s like that every day.  WOW.  What’s the deal with that?   Since she told me, there’s a special place in my heart for people that work in the airline industry.  I can understand why some seem a little callous, but that doesn’t stop me from showing my appreciation.

I’ve love to hear YOUR flying tips!

Cowards

This morning I posted about a personal experience with domestic violence.  When I posted, I made the disclaimer I would remove the post in a few hours because of both the personal nature and the people involved.  I don’t claim to be much of a writer, so when the blog recorded 497 views in 2 hours, I was more than shocked.  Is there really that much violence out there?

I’ve already written that I grew up in a violent home.  Each incident was preceded by copious amounts of alcohol.  I heard from my aunt that my grandfather was occasionally abusive toward my grandmother, but he changed after they had grandchildren.

Even though I have a horrible temper, I’ve never come close to hitting a woman.  My mom told me countless times growing up that I was NEVER EVER EVER to lay hands on a woman.  As I child, I asked if I could defend myself if a girl hit me first, and I was adamantly told “NO!”  Those words have stayed with me and are ingrained into my fiber.  Thank you, mom.

When Christy and I married, she got to witness a few of my anger episodes, which consisted of yelling and throwing things.  I can’t remember what sparked any of them, but I do remember the day she drew the line in the sand.  She said “If this keeps on, we will not be married.”  My wife is the love of my life.  I took her words seriously and sat down with a counselor to talk about my anger.  

If I loved my wife, more than I love myself, as I claimed, I had to sacrifice my right to be angry.  It was that simple.  When I looked at it from that standpoint, it was an easy choice.   And it is a sacrifice I gladly make, every single day.  But as bad as my anger was, it was neither physical, nor verbally, abusive toward her.  I had a fail-safe switch, that forced me to get in the car and drive to the church down the road whenever I felt I was losing control.  There’s something about sitting at a house of worship, even in the parking lot, that grounded my emotions.  

I can only look at the world from one perspective, and that’s mine.  I haven’t had the experiences or influences of other people.  I had a tough childhood, but I didn’t bring the baggage with me.  Anger is something I grasp.  Violence is not.

I do not, nor will I ever, understand a man hitting a woman.  It is wrong on every level.  A man should protect his wife from all harm.  Domestic violence is that insidious demon lurking behind closed doors.  It’s something no one likes to talk about.  It’s embarrassing for the woman who doesn’t want the world to know that man she loves is hurting her.  It goes unreported and unchecked.

I wish I had answers.  I only have questions.

One in four women have experience domestic abuse in their lifetime according to The Domestic Violence Resource Center.   One in four.  I don’t understand.  The more I read about the topic, the more I believe that number is low. 

A friend of mine sent me this video from Pastor Mark Driscoll and he screams “How dare you!!!” multiple times.  I agree.

There is no provocation or excuse that justifies the cowardly act of domestic violence.

Guys, if you’re doing this, seek help…http://www.4angertherapy.com.  Admitting you need help makes you more of a man.  I’d rather my wife think I’m her “Knight in Shining Armor” than the dragon any day.

Ladies, if this is happening to you, seek help…National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or http://www.womenslaw.org.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coach Angryman

I’ve coached sports for my kids for many years now, starting with my daughter’s softball team, my son’s football team, and now my step-son’s soccer team.  I get more joy out of watching kids develop and seeing their face light up when they do something that didn’t think they could do than just about anything.  

Last year, the soccer team I was co-coaching was pretty good.  We had lost a few games through the year, but nothing larger than a margin of 2 point.  Because our town is so small and we were the only team in our age group, we were able to represent our town in the area tournament.  

Right away we faced a team that beat us in the regular season and, again, they beat us and put us in the losers bracket of the tournament.  This team was extremely aggressive and fast.  They played right at the line of unsportsmanlike like, pushing and throwing elbows when the referees weren’t looking.  Alas, it’s one part of the game I do not like, but it’s not altogether uncommon in some towns.

We managed to win the remaining games and late that Saturday night, we faced the undefeated team yet again.  We lost to them in the regular season, and earlier in the day.  To say that confidence wasn’t high would be an understatement.  They were big, fast, and skilled…and a little bit mean too.  

I’m not going to drag the story out because it’s only setting the stage.  We beat the team by one goal.  Our kids played the game of their lives, every one playing above their skill level.  Unfortunately, the evening had a stain on it.  The coach of the other team was livid.  He yelled and screamed at his kids the entire time.  I don’t know about you, but I find it really hard to inspire 8 and 9 year old kids that way.  To top it off, after the game he refused to line up to shake hands and to sign the official scorecard.  Wow.

Fast forward to the first game of this season, two weeks ago.  Coach Angryman brought his team to our humble field for the season opener.  The game was never in contention.  We won 10-2.  Again, he showed his proverbial rear-end by getting into a verbal altercation with the referee about missing an off-sides call that I couldn’t have made  where I was standing, and Coach Angryman was 30 yards further away than I was.  To make matters worse, one of our players decided to dish out a little of what he had been receiving all game (against our wishes) and Coach Angryman said some not so nice words to him after the game.  Not wanting things to escalate any further, I gave the young man a quick lecture about being the better person, and to ignore the other coach.  I had to fight my own inner Angryman not to Crane-Kick him, Daniel Larusso style. 

This past weekend, we traveled to Mr. Angryman’s city to play another team.  When we were walking to drop our gear on the sidelines, we saw him walking toward us.  The other coach leaned in and whispered, “Here he comes.”

He reached out his hand and immediately said, “I’m so sorry about how I acted.  I don’t handle frustration well and I was more than frustrated with my own team.  I wanted to apologize to you and the young man I said something to.  Where is he?”  We called him over and the coach stuck out his hand and offered his apology to him, saying he was a great soccer player and he should never have said anything to him.

Talk about a total transformation.  My opinion of this guy went from lower than dog poop, to respect, not because he apologized to me and the other coach, but because he humbled himself in front of an 11 year old boy.  He could have asked us to tell him he was sorry, instead he chose to do it himself.  

When we realize that we’ve done something inappropriate to someone else, how motivated are we to chase down someone and fall face first on the ground asking for forgiveness?  Someone doesn’t have to apologize to be forgiven.  But it’s awesome to see someone grow by lowering themselves, even old Angrymen…even me.

Be awesome!

Chris