I first developed my fear of flying in high school, I think while thinking too much during many flights by myself to USY events and to see camp friends. It got worse during college, highlighted by two sketchy-as-hell flights. Then came 9/11, and the crash of Flight 587 over Queens. I stopped flying for four-and-a-half years, and began again, reluctantly, over Presidents' Day Weekend in February of '06. I've been coping with it ever since. Thursday was a pretty good day; the week before less so. But the story here is about the flight experience.
At Ben-Gurion, pre-flight, two interesting notes:
- I had neglected to renew my 3-month tourist visa when it expired in early December, and was prepared for pretty much anything (which I imagined might consist of some haggling and/or a fine) as I approached passport control. The woman who was processing my passport began the expected haggling, then called over a supervisor. The supervisor asks me what I'm doing in Israel, and about 2 seconds into my response (in Hebrew), she turns to the processor and says "אנחנו לא מעכבים יהודיים. תשחררי אותו." - We don't stop Jews; let him go. And there I went, feeling a tad awkward about benefiting from racism but not complaining. (Not sure if this is, as it were, written policy that others [or me] could use in the future לכתחילה, but it was sure nice.)
- Less than three minutes after I pass through security, I get a text message on my Israeli cell-phone, from סלקום, advertising cheap rates to call Israel from חו"ל - big brother knew I was leaving the country. Eerie.
On the plane I was treated to the sickest on-demand entertainment opportunities I've ever seen, including the normal variety of games and the following sick movies (a selection of the 300+):
- Matrix trilogy
- X-Men trilogy
- Godfather trilogy
- Lord of the Rings trilogy
- Back to the Future
- Fight Club
- Spider Man 1 and 2
- Sopranos
- The Wire
- Six Feet Under
- Big Bang Theory
- Grey's Anatomy
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From the first flight I took after my four-and-a-half year break, in '06, I've been awed by the stunning beauty of the views from above.
On the flight from Tel Aviv to New York, I was treated to a lot of clouds, but also glimpses of breathtaking geography: the rocky crags of Southeast Europe; industrial zones of Germany; agricultural fields and massive wind turbines of the Netherlands; rolling grass-covered hills of northern England or Scotland; Quebec's glaciers and ice-covered mountains; shelves of ice hanging on the Atlantic Coast. Add to that the magnificent clouds, occasionally truffula grass rolling like cotton candy, or gossamer strands of loose fibers, or appearing as elevated versions of the ocean itself, waves of white interrupting flat, calm sheets. As we were landing, the setting sun projected a faint rainbow in the translucent clouds. Stunningly beautiful.
Upon our final descent, seconds before we touched down, I was reintroduced to the America I know so well: IKEA, Babies 'R' Us, and Toys 'R' Us across from the airport. What a classic first glimpse of America to our visitors from abroad. During the two hours I spent in the SuperShuttle winding my way, painfully slowly, towards Annie and Emily's apartment next to JTS, the sheer weight of our consumer economy rose up around me, from the redesigned Duane Reade facades to the familiar Hot & Crusty, Dunkin' Donuts, and more.
If I could only figure out why cell phones are banned between passport control and customs in Newark (a process that could easily take 30 minutes as you wait for your luggage), I'd feel pretty good about the whole process.
In the US through January 25th, will try to keep up the recent rhythm of posting.
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