Thoughts From Places, Places in the Middle of the Air

This thought occurred to me as I was zooming a few miles over some part of the blur that is middle America. You may not remember this, but a way long time ago people could check baggage for free when they flew. Now, you couldn't check your entire wardrobe, well, I could but you get my point, but you could check a bag or two without them charging you. This once, coincidentally, quite helpful as I tried to move to Michigan and live out of a suitcase.

However, times changed and, in due course, all the major airlines were charging some sort of fee for the first bag a passenger checked. So, Americans being the cheap blighters that we are, we stopped checking so many bags. But we still wanted to bring our stuff with us, if there is something Americans dislike more than fees it is leaving our stuff behind, so we started putting more stuff in our carry-on luggage, because that was free after all!

Airlines, being the generous souls that they are, even allowed passengers TWO carry-ons, a little bag for under the seat, and a larger item in the overhead bin. And when I say a larger item, I do mean bigger than a bread box. In fact, they allowed such monstrously large bags that they realized that if everyone brought such a big carry on, they couldn't fit all of them in the overhead compartment; thus was born the gate check.

If you gate check a bag, you take a carry on, then allow the airline to check it through to your destination at the loading gate. So, for those of you paying attention, now we are not bringing checked luggage, instead bringing bigger carry-ons, checking those carry-ons (so they are indeed not carried on), and storing them in the space vacated by the checked luggage whose removal heralded the rise of the carry-on. This thought may be funnier in midair when one is suffering travel fatigue, but I still think it is fairly funny.

I also think it is a success of capitalism. Although they reign as monsters among carry-ons, the largest carry-ons are dwarfed by checked luggage. So, we are being convinced to bring less stuff with us on airplanes, which, in turn, makes the airplane more fuel efficient, a true triumph of economic environmentalism!

Car-less, Car-less Life

It is a matter of some personal pride that I have, in my nigh unto eight years off on my own, only driven a car for one summer in order to get to and from work each day. Of course, I was at my parents' home that summer, and driving their car, so it is of some debate how "on my own," I was at that point. I do, however, consider my choice to live car-less to be a good one personally, morally, and environmentally.

I ought not condemn those who make other choices, for it is by their generous sufferance that my lifestyle choice becomes easier. While I receive rides rather infrequently in Michigan, if the possibility of such rides were non-existent, the realm of possibilities for my life would become much smaller. It is not necessary that I avail myself of these potential rides in order to benefit, their very feasibility keeps me from feeling trapped in East Lansing. Of course, when I am in Oregon I receive quite a few generous rides.

My other main mode of vehicular transportation is the bus. In a way, this post is inspired by my sister's on her privilege at being a bus passenger. I must admit that I am a far less frequent passenger upon the bus than I have been in the past, and I am proud of this. But the reason that I am proud is not out of disdain for the bus system, rather I am glad that I am being active and turning unnecessary bus trips into solid walks.

In fact, you might be surprised at just how effective walking can be, if you have no need to transport a large volume or mass of goods. I actually took my first bus ride of the semester on Saturday, having already walked the 4 miles to Meijer (a big store) I decided a return trip via bus was in order, especially considering my purchase of a vacuum cleaner. Before that my previous two bus trips were from and to the airport in Detroit, and according to my bus ticket, prior to that I took a couple of rides on December 1st, for reasons unremembered to me, but likely involving my desire to avoid the elements.

In addition to feelings of self-efficacy and independence that my transportation habits engender in me, I obtain serious financial benefits. Last time I drove I was a teenage male and, consequentially, my insurance rates were awful. However, for a full year of local bus rides and two round trips to the airport I paid about $240 a year. Even though I am older and, presumably, more responsible now, I cannot imagine that the costs associated with purchasing, maintaining, fueling, and insuring a vehicle for a year would come close to being that low. Heck, even if there were not upkeep costs associated with the car, one would need to get a car for $2,400 and drive it for ten years to match my level of investment in transportation.

The picture becomes even rosier once I start walking most places. Since my last unlimited bus pass ran out at the beginning of July, I have spent less than $20 on local bus rides. This puts me at a projection of approximately $140 spent this year on Michigan transportation. That is about an extra 25 used books that I get to pocket (used books being, of course, the currency in any civilized society).

This is not to advocate that everyone become a radical pedestrian, as I like to think of myself. Not only do I benefit from the car ownership of my friends, but I also realize that there are some lifestyles in which auto ownership becomes a necessity. Furthermore, my ability to blithely walk to my destination at all hours of the day or, for the most part, night is an expression of my dual privileges of being male (thus possessing for the most part a feeling of physical safety) and somewhat indifferent to the weather (thus possessing for the most part an ability to wander around in a Michigan winter). I do hope to inspire consideration of the alternatives, while a car may be a necessity in one's life, that does not make it a necessity for every individual trip one makes. I do acknowledge that possessing a car would probably make it very tempting to use when I was running late or bound for a destination more than a couple of miles away, as possessing an unlimited bus pass made the bus highly attractive, but I assure you that there are valuable benefits to the lifestyle of a modest pedestrian.

I certainly do not deny the possibility that I shall need, or even just seriously desire, a car in the future and end up purchasing one. In fact, those Chevy Volts and Nissan Leafs (Leaves?) look mighty tempting for when I go out into the real world and acquire a terrifyingly disposable income. But, I do hope that I remember the lessons of moderation and self-reliance that I have learned as a radical pedestrian.

Travelogue II: Fear and Hope

There have been two main emotions evoked thus far in my travelings, assuming exhaustion is not an emotion, and they are fear and hope. Let us start with the fear, for it came first.

Aside from the mundane fears of missing flights, connections, or getting stabbed to death in the gritty streets of Portland, I experienced some more interesting fears this trip. As I mentioned yesterday, I started out at the wrong terminal, which definitely contributed to my fear of missing my flight; however, on the bus I experienced a different type of fear. I took a shuttle to the other terminal and, in the course of that interminable seeming journey, two men of vaguely Persian appearance got on board. And let me stress here that it was very much of vague appearance; logically I realize that their facial features match those of people that I know from the Indian Subcontinent all the way to Italy. However, after they shared a slight nod, I began to evaluate whether or not they were a threat.

Of course my association of their appearance with the Middle East informed my fear in the encounter, and of course I think that this is an undesirable thing. That said, I think it is an important thing to admit and confront. When the frenzy of condemnation for the NPR analyst occurred, I was tempted to make a similar point, but cowed into quiet by the overwhelming negative backlash to his revelation. From my understanding he was trying to say that increased wariness around people perceived to be of Middle Eastern descent was both natural and should not be condemned.

I agree with both points, although perhaps for different reasons than he has. It is natural; human beings associate to concepts whether we are being told that they are linked, or being explicitly told that they are not. So, whatever you say when you argue about all Irishmen being drunkards, you are reinforcing the mental connection between the concepts. I also agree that it should not be condemned, not because it is desirable that we have these fears, not even because it is natural that we have these fears, but because I believe an open, rational examination of our darker emotions is beneficial necessary if we are to come to terms with them, rather than be ruled by them. If we produce public outcry when people admit to these human failings, it seems that we only push them deeper, which seems to causes them to fester rather than disappear. Try not to think about white bears, you only end up thinking about them more. Thus, I would rather see admission, without acceptance, of such problematic responses, as I am trying to do here.

That is all I have to say about that facet of fear, but I do think it worth noting the other thoughts that entered my mind as I wondered if the shuttle that I was on was about to become a smoldering wreckage. One big thought was that it was terribly unlikely to be the case, followed by the more interesting and less comforting thought that the same could be said to be true for anyone else right before they were blown up. This led to some wondering if other victims of sudden bombings were considering whether they were about to become victims right before they did. Of course, some people have sure knowledge that they are in danger, but I was curious if someone else had been reassuring themselves that this sort of thing was terribly unlikely to occur to them at this specific moment, right before it actually occurred. An interesting exercise in imagination, and all I have to say about this experience.

The next big fear I experienced was caused by turbulence taking off in Denver. There had been a little rough air on our descent, but nothing compared to the shaking we experienced on the way out. I felt something different between the abstract recognition that the aircraft was being shaken quite powerfully, and the visceral response that I had to my falling sensation being activated repeatedly. The involuntary terror of this experience led me to wonder if I could keep my composure in a panicked situation. Setting aside the fact that I think calm produces better results than panic, even if there were no way for me to affect my demise, I should prefer to end my life in quiet reflection, rather than mindless terror. This is one of the reasons I try to look out the window as I land, as last experiences go, soaring over the ground does not seem like a terrible one.

And, after all the fear was released, there still was hope left at the bottom of my heart. At the Beaverton library, a beautiful structure by the way, I was quite upset to discover the Wi-Fi required an ID and password to access. Their gorgeous facility turned mocking in my mind if they were the first library I had ever encountered to limit free use of the Internet thusly. However, when I resorted to asking directions to Powell's bookstore, the destination I was trying to look up, I noticed a list of usernames and passwords for guests to use on the desk. This library, like all the others I had visited, did have Internet, for free, for anyone who cared to partake. As I walked away from that lovely building, it occurred to me that we build these places in so many of our cities and towns. Places where people give away books and information for free to those so inclined to make use of them responsibly. Public libraries were already a place that held great emotional meaning to me, and this seems a good reason to add more. This seems like something worth inspiring a little hope for us poor, frightened, lost humans.

Travelogue

I caught the embers of a beautiful sunset over Denver which was a great ending to the day. Of course, that was six hours ago and I am still awake, but by now the word "day" has taken on a very malleable meaning. But, I am back on break, so it is time for me to resume putting up blog posts. I shall endeavor to get two a couple of topics I was asked to elaborate on, but today we shall discuss my Monday/Tuesday.

For reasons of sleep and stress, Monday and Tuesday have sort of been one big day to me, one in which I took a lot of naps, but a day nonetheless. Monday started with the usual semester end "celebration," proctoring, then spending six hours in a room with the other MTH 133 instructors/TA's grading 500 or so exams. However, instead of finishing grading then proceeding to enter grades and relax, instead I spent much of the evening attempting to scratch the arcane surface of my number theory homework. The less said about that, the better. I whiled away the rest of the night watching TV on the internet packing. Then I went back in to the math building, where exhaustion caught up with me and I grabbed two hours of sleep on my office floor. Why did I come to school then fall asleep first thing, rather than sleeping in my own bed, probably out of fear that I wouldn't wake up on time from my own bed.

After scraping myself off the floor, I "finished" my assignment, as well as some administrative tasks, ran some errands, and prepared to venture to the bus. The Wi-Fi was not working on the bus, so I grabbed another hour of sleep in between stops. Unfortunately, I debarked at the wrong terminal, so I was heading into security when my flight was "officially" beginning boarding. Fortunately, security, while crowded, went very smoothly, and I made it to the terminal before the flight actually started boarding. As mentioned, landing in Denver I was treated to a beautiful post-sunset sky. Unfortunately, I landed in Denver at the same time that my next flight was, again "officially," supposed to begin boarding. In reality, we were to the gate at about the same time as boarding began. Since my next flight was just one terminal over, this gave me time to purchase and scarf a sub, since I hadn't eaten in about 12 hours.

Fast forward, I am safe in Oregon. I have no idea what I am doing tomorrow, but I'm sure something will happen, and hopefully it will be good. I have some further thoughts inspired by traveling, but this post has been quite long enough, so expect those tomorrow.