Although, having said all that ... when I'm taking off and thinking about all the things that might go wrong (whilst knowing that it's almost a guaranteed bet that nothing will go wrong -- I know flying is the safest form of transport), I do remind myself every so often that it's an amazing privilege to fly. Up to just a century or so ago, flight was the stuff of fantasy -- no man had ever taken to the heavens, and most probably thought they never would. And it's really only the last 50 years or so that flying really spread and became affordable and accessible. We're incredibly fortunate to be living at a time when we can soar across the sky like gods. I remember Saul Bellow once writing something like "my generation is the first to be able to dream of the clouds from both sides". We take it for granted most of the time, but it really is one of the greatest achievements of the human race. We should marvel and give thanks every time we get into a plane and leave terra firma behind.

But it's hard to think that way sometimes, when you hit a bad spot of turbulence and the opening scenes of "Alive" flash through your mind!!!!!!!

:-)

p.s. in books 5 and 6, my dislike of flying will seep through, when I set an especially disturbing scene on a plane ... You read about it here first!!!