Ridiculous!

Ridiculous! - A belated Hello back to my blog! - I was writing this a few days ago as we were sitting on the plane to Chisasibi in the far north east of Quebec, Canada. We flew out of Montreal which is definitely not a small town airport. Anyways, what we went through was the epitome of aggravation. Having been to many airports already, I'm kind of used to the generally time- consuming ordeals starting with the self- check- in counters, security check points, passport controls, mile- long jogs to the gates, baggage claim, customs, etc. I really thought I'd seen it all - until last Monday morning. After surprisingly having been checked in by an actual person, we were finally headed towards Departures. I could not believe my eyes once we turned around the corner and spotted hundreds of passengers waiting in line. What the heck?! First, we were funneled in what seemed half a mile away from the actual security check point and then driven in long snake lines just like cattle. I glanced at my watch and instantaneously knew that there was no way on earth to still catch our flight unless something changed quickly. We saw airport personnel run around and call out for flights that were due to be boarded. Thank God, we were also pulled out last minute. Just like several other travelers we, too, had to take the shortest way which meant crawling from under the security corals and cross five or six lanes at once. This is ridiculous, I yelled out in disbelief. What's the sense of any of this, I seriously wonder? First, they make you stand in line for half an hour or longer, and then they pick you out like raisins out of a cake, so all those on smaller air lines wouldn't miss their flights. Now the lucky ones disrupt the ones still waiting to be driven further down to the multiple security check- up ports. I've got to say, I really liked and enjoyed flying back in the eighties and nineties when you could still smoke, when alcoholic beverages were still complementary, when food was still tasty and plenty, and when the few hours before take- off were still rather stress free. Back then flying and traveling used to be luxurious, exciting and a lot of fun. Flights suddenly started to get incredibly affordable which made it even more worthwhile. Then 9/ 11 came and went with its senseless tragic and left nothing but a trail of over- regulations, double and triple controls, many contradicting laws and rules, etc. In the end, the ticket prices slowly climbed back up to what we would usually pay on average for a round trip fare about twenty years before. With few exceptions every now and then, the rates have generally exceeded any reasonably sensitive price limits by now mostly due to all those extra safety measures imposed. A handful of heinous terrorists acts have forced a 360 degree change upon the entire planet. Absolutely incredible if you ask me! It just doesn't make any more fun to travel by plane these days. I, for my part, have had my fair share and will not pursue many more adventures of this kind for the simple reason that it keeps getting more and more hectic, stressful and above all insanely costly. More and more often I hear old folks complain about having to take their shoes, pullovers, cardigans, jackets, belts, scarves, etc. off. I do fully sympathize with them on that, however, this doesn't really change anything. There's unfortunately so much more to deal with when it comes to air travel. My grumpy facial expression has unfortunately contributed to thorough controls several times. I must indeed convey such a tensed- up and cranky impression altogether that I apparently attract this kind of extra annoyance just like a crap magnet. Every time I check in to return to America, my boarding cards are held back until I physically enter the States where they basically detain me at the Customs and Immigration for as long as my green card status is checked and I'm finally cleared to continue my journey. Last time as we were waiting again for a good 50 minutes or so, I was whispering to other foreigners, and they all said the same. They, too, are growing sick and tired of traveling and are thinking about retiring from it. Well, what does this tell you? - This time, though, all the waiting was worth it as we spent a few great days up in Chisasibi with the fantastic tribe of the Cree nation.