I return to full blogging duties today, after what was quite literally the trip of a lifetime.  Before hitting some topical stuff, a few thoughts on my travels.

1)      AS SOME OF YOU REMEMBER, Delta Airlines is dead to me.  Thus, Mrs. Soxblog and I flew United Airlines to Denver.  United has a few odd ticks.  Obviously some management consultant with a strange sense of humor dictated that the gate attendants “take ownership” of each flight.  In her announcements over the P.A. system, the Boston gate attendant kept referring to “my flight to Denver.”  She took this concept pretty far.  When she said you were only allowed two carry-ons and she didn’t want any bags of food or anything else in addition to those carry-ons on her flight, it was obvious she meant business.  I shoved my lunch into my laptop case. 

The Denver gate attendant took things up a notch.  The flight before ours was LaGuardia-bound, but reportedly it had a tight time limit for leaving or else the airplane crew wouldn’t be able to do the flight because of union regulations or some other nonsense.  The gate attendant insisted over the P.A. system, “I will not allow my flight to be cancelled, but that means you only have 10 minutes to orderly board the plane, stow your luggage and prepare to push away from the gate.  You must board with your group and I will not allow anyone to block the jet way.”  I have to admit, it was thrilling seeing a bunch of New Yorkers bossed around in such a fashion.

2)      WHAT OTHER INDUSTRY goes to such lengths to make the vast majority of its customers know they’re second class citizens? While our Boston gate attendant was overseeing the boarding process, she said over the P.A. system that first class passengers needn’t wait in line with the peons even if they had missed their priority boarding call.  She told them, “Please use the red carpet to the right and I will seat you first.”  Hilariously, the “red carpet” was about 2’ by 4’.  It looked more like a red doormat.

I’m not making this general observation about the airlines treating most of their customers in an ostentatiously second class manner because I’m a “power to the people” kind of guy.  Every smart company finds some way to show appreciation for its best customers, and the airlines should be no different in recognizing the saps who are willing to pay an extra $1500 for a little extra legroom for a few hours.  But no other company so clearly antagonizes its other customers.  Butchers don’t condescend to people who buy chuck.  Car dealers don’t give the high-hat to buyers who go for the cheaper models.  The whole “red carpet” thing is another sign of an industry that’s grown pathetic because of its government-secured oligopoly. 

3)      WE DID A LOT OF DRIVING.  So I rented a mean-looking black Escalade – that’s how the Soxblogs roll.  If those goofballs posing naked on that glacier noticed it melting a little faster, it may have been my fault.  We put a lot of miles on our Escalade.

I have to say, the Escalade is fun to drive on open roads with 75 MPH speed limits and not another car in sight for miles.  But its fuel economy is atrocious.  You can almost see the gas needle moving leftward whenever you accelerate.     

Back on subject in a bit!

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