Up in the Air: Parenting on United Flight 852

Here’s a post I’m doing just because I can, dammit, from seat 18D on United Flight 852 from SFO to JFK.

I have a great deal of ambivalence about wireless Internet entering the cabin. Mainly because I know how annoying and annoyed I can be in the presence of the Interwebs. Sure enough, the first thing I tried to do after paying my $7.95 access fee was to try to call Dadwagoner Matt on Skype, for what would have been a loud and probably unwelcome conversation about fathering on airplanes.

They’ve somehow scrambled the VOIP capabilities, though (anyone know a way around that?), so fellow passengers were spared having to listen to me.

Anyhow, we’re barely over the Sierras but I have a good feeling about this flight. Coming out to SF—just me and the two kids, as it is right now—tears were shed and urine flowed. I had also neglected to bring a change of clothes for me or the incontinent midget I call my son.

But now he’s wearing two diapers, sitting somewhere besides my lap, and I’ve got a change of clothes just in case.

And as you can see, the girl is enthralled, once again, by the Jungle Book. They may have Internet on airplanes, but they still haven’t made a better kids’ movie than that one from 1967.

UPDATE: just about ready to land and i’ve got to say: this is a cool crew working the flight. They’ve been feeding my kids ice cream from first class and just gave us a chocolate chip cookie. They know how to win over the girl.

So, I know the airline industry is in a dark place these days and I loved that YouTube from the guy who had his Taylor guitar broken by United. But that just makes it all the more stupendous when you run across a calm and generous crew. Right on.