#83 A Traveler’s Tale

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Much of human history is concerned with the way that people get from one place to another. Our earliest ancestors traveled on foot, braving the elements, avoiding attack by wild animals and suffering really nasty blisters. Some forgotten genius came up with the idea of riding on animals and things improved. Somebody else (the Phoenicians, I think, but I sorta slept through history class) invented carts and things improved again. Carts gave way to trains and cars and trucks and things improved again. Then human beings invented air travel and things … fell apart.

Really.

Airplane trips generally begin early in the morning with a drive to the airport through rush hour traffic. Sitting gridlocked on the freeway is actually a good thing because it gives you a chance to prepare for the lines you’ll be waiting in the rest of the day.

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Want to get the rest of this essay or others like it? Check out the whole audio essay and related links at www.ShortCummingsAudio.com.

NOTES:

• A couple of notes for this episode:
• If you want to minimize your wait time at security and get through the gate more quickly, you might check out the TSA’s traveler’s tips at:
  http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/index.shtm
• You’ll also find some pretty nifty info for air travelers (including some pretty cool statistical info about lost baggage, delayed flights, etc.) at:
  http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/
• Listeners who caught the reference to ‘Oceanic Flight 815′ might want to swing by the Generally Speaking Podcast Network (http://gspn.tv) to listen to Cliff Ravenscraft’s Weekly LOST Podcast. And, if LOST isn’t your thing, you’ll find plenty of other good shows at GSPN.

Tags: humor essay | humor column | airlines | air travel | airport | comedy