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January 14, 2005
...When You Pry It Out of My Cold, Dead Hands
Jason and I are New Jersey-bound this weekend, which reminds me of an experience I'd been meaning to ask you all about. The last time we flew to vist my parents, there was terrible weather. There were delays everywhere and while travel delays suck, at least I had my knitting.
And that's where it gets weird -- my knitting. We boarded the plane, and after quite a while we finally got clearance to take off. As we taxied to the runway the flight attendant did her final walk-through, checking that everybody was off their cell phone and seat-belted in. When she got to my row, she looked at me and told me I had to put my knitting away until we had taken off.
Not wanting to be arrested for the federal crime of ignoring the instructions of a flight attendant, I complied despite the fact that it was an absurd request. Knitting isn't an electronic device, and it's not carry-on luggage which must be safely stowed. Was my knitting was somehow considered dangerous in the event of unexpected turbulence during take-off? If so, how come Jason was allowed to keep reading his hard-back book?
I calmed myself with the knowledge that take-off is short, and as soon as we were safely aloft I got back to knitting. Forty-five minutes later I saw the sparkly lights of the Ben Franklin bridge, signalling that our weather-delayed trip was nearly over. Or not. The pilot came on and announced that we would have to circle for a while because Philadelphia was backed up. We were to keep our seat-belts on and our electronic devices off so that we could land with as little delay as possible once he got the go-ahead from the tower.
At the end of his announcement, the flight attendant breezed through the cabin and -- you guessed it -- told me I had to put my knitting away. Before I could even protest she was gone, leaving me with no option except to sit in bored silence while Jason read his hard-cover book as we circled. For an hour.
I fly frequently for work and play, and this had never happened to me before. We were flying Southwest, which we always fly when we visit my parents. It was extremely strange. Has anybody ever experienced anything like this?
Posted by shannon at January 14, 2005 4:18 PM