October 19, 2003

Travels with Maggie

I have just returned from my trip back to New Orleans with Maggie. As I typically am after eight hour car trips, I'm in a putative mood (sorry for the SAT words, guys, it's that kinda night).

Ever since I started this blog, I knew I would end up blogging about this topic, I just didn't know when it would be.

I think everyone has a sore spot, a touchpoint, a thing beyond which they can't go. My friends and family know mine well. So what is it, you ask? Say it with me now, friends and fam......

Flying.

I know, I know, Erica Jong beat this into the ground in the 1970's (pun intended). But it's a real fear and this is my blog, so I'm going to write about it. So there.

A few points to start my musings: (1) I started flying when I was very, very young (before age two), and have flown A LOT, mostly alone, ever since. This clearly is not an issue of inexperience. (2) This fear has crept up on me over the course of my life. Sometimes it is an acute fear, and sometimes it is more watered down. It never really goes away. (3) There is no number 3, but this wouldn't be much of a list with only two points.

Whenever I tell people I'm afraid of flying, I get one of five reactions. I have heard all of these reactions so often that I now have pat responses to them. They are as follows:

(1) "Flying is SO safe. More people die every year [insert your favorite death-inducing activity] than in plane crashes."

Ooooohhhhhhhh. So you're saying flying is SAFE? Well, thank goodness
for that. I can rest easy now.

People, I drive every day on Interstate 10. I could give a damn about safety
issues.

(2) "When I'm flying, I just close my eyes, and imagine myself in my 'happy
place.'"

I have a happy place. It is located ON THE GROUND.

(3) "When I'm flying, I just zone out. To me, flying is dead time."

Me, too.

(4) "You must not like flying because you have control issues."

Thank you, Mr(s). Freud. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take my
id and go home.

(5) "I just love flying. It's one of my favorite things to do!"

How nice for you. Excuse me while I go fetch you the key to the city.

My therapist says that my fear of flying is just something I've concocted to divert my attention away from my other, more important, fears (and, as usual, he's right, which makes it difficult to argue with him, not that I don't try). I think I've figured out what's really bugging me, though time and space on this blog prevent me from going into all of that now.

So why am I bringing this up now? Because I have to fly to Savannah, Georgia on Thursday. I fly to Atlanta (one hour), have a layover, and fly to Savannah (45 minutes). Naturally, I am checking the Weather Channel every day, mentally picking out the books I'll bring with me (so I can re-read the same sentence 45 times in flight) and trying not to think about it. And it's working. Sort of.

Posted by Kitty at October 19, 2003 08:39 PM

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