Flying, it is said, is the safest form of transportation. Poppycock! I wonder how many of us would take the test if experiments were being carried out to discover how safe an aeroplane is when it crashes if they were also conducting the same test for cars.
Don't panic; you get the full set of safety gear for each experiment, crash helmet, padded clothing and parachute! The catch (isn't there always a catch?) is you can only choose one of the experiments to partake in. Which would you choose? Thought so, me too.
Okay, I confess, I am getting a little nervous about flying at the weekend. I am going on vacation to the scene of my first ever searchwarp article "Beware of the Turtles". A lovely spot in Greece called Sivota. It really is a gorgeous place with the only downside being that I have to get on an aeroplane to get there.
I am terrified of flying, or more accurately, of crashing. However, I have grasped the concept that my spirit of adventure will be all spirit and no adventure and my cravings to see some of the more exotic, far flung places in the world will all be done via Google maps unless I can get myself on that plane.
I wonder if the fear of flying is hereditary. The closest either of my parents have been to getting airborne is putting their feet up on the sofa. Do you remember the character of BA Baracas in the A Team, played by Mr T? No, he is not my parent but he did have a terrible fear of flying and had to be rendered unconscious in order to get him to travel on a plane. Well, whatever the potion was that worked for BA, I want it!
I remember my first transatlantic flight which was also my first flight of any kind. I had the window seat and a lovely old couple sitting on my outside left. I had managed to arrive at a panic free, trance like state about 3 hours into the flight, when in a very nonchalant, "I fly 3 times a week" way the old lady said to her husband, "Look at how much the wings are bending today darling!" All I saw for the remaining 5 hours of trembling and sweat was how much those fragile looking wings were bending in the wind!
My wife constantly reassures me that everything is in God's hands and that not a hair on my head (does this count if you are already bald?) will be harmed unless He permits it. Of course, I know this to be true but whilst I am still in my human body, I am still going to be feeling a little uneasy at 37,000 feet.
