September 28, 2001, Newsletter Issue #45: A Personal Message Regarding Travel as a Normal Part of American Life

Tip of the Week

Terrorists` "product" is terror, fear, paralyzing our emotions and behavior. Don`t let them win!

Our country needs to travel. We`re too far-flung to manage families and work from the distance of a commute or the utilization of conference calls. Perhaps this tragedy will help make some systems which were wasteful become more efficient, and that`s fine. But let us change for the right reasons.

It is still true that it is statistically more dangerous to drive to the airport than to fly on a commercial airliner.

Security is getting better. We`ve finally gotten a kick in the pants after years of well-known, and well-publicized gaps. Training of screeners will improve; higher pay will result in more qualified personnel.

Be patient with the adjustments that the transportation system is undergoing:
There will be more intensive searches and questioning
Parking will be reviewed
Ticket distribution systems may be changed (online versus airline/travel agency access)
Carriers are juggling their routing and capacity estimations daily- some flights are being dropped from schedules, non-stops are becoming connections in order to load the maximum number of passengers
Many airlines are discontinuing meal service domestically; others are offering it only for longer flights. Reason? In part, for time concerns, cost, no one will probably complain that they miss the good food, and the "no knives" edict.

To woo passengers back, some airlines are dropping prices for travel this year and are also opening up more frequent flyer space.

When travel falls off, the effect is widespread...pilots, mechanics, flight crew, reservation and gate staff, travel agencies, cruise employees, hotel workers, conventioneers, and thousands of others are impacted "first generation"; their families, communities and debtors are affected by their loss of income in our trickle down economy.

Be careful: do not leave bags unattended. Report any you see.

If you were going to take a vacation out of town that you felt you had to cancel, take the loved ones to a vacation in-town. When is the last time you did the "tourist thing" at a city that was within 2 hours` drive? Stayed in a hotel with an indoor pool and spa facilities? Why not call friends and do a weekend away from the washer/dryer and inject some funds into the local economy?

If the gigantic airports especially intimidate you, investigate the smaller surrounding airports. NYC has White Plains, even Philly. LA has Ontario, Long Beach or Orange County. Boston has Providence. Similar options are available near most large cities.

Train travel is fun if you have the time; comfortable if you have the money (on an overnighter). Amtrak`s web is www.amtrak.com

We fought, suffered, purchased, won or otherwise aquired what is now the USA; we hacked out trails from brush, dynamited tunnels from mountains, laid rail foot by foot with the aid of thousands of people breaking their backs so that we would be able to travel coast to coast. We paved the country in a miraculous feat of engineering and filled it with our automobiles. When air travel became commercially viable, we jumped on that, and with our ingenuity and entreprenurial bent, it grew to a mammoth industry which allows us to traverse the country in only one day.

My maternal grandparents were born before the Wright brothers flew their "Flyer" at Kitty Hawk; they died after we made it to the moon. With just the example of that one generation, how dare we give in to fear and throw away the lifestyles and culture we fought so hard to attain?

Let`s be rational, reasonable, fix the fixable, punish those who commited the atrocities, and get on with our lives; older, wiser, and re-dedicated to our nation and its people.

About LifeTips

Now one of the top on-line publishers in the world, LifeTips offers tips to millions of monthly visitors. Our mission mission is to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Expert writers earn dough for what they know. And exclusive sponsors in each niche topic help us make-it-all happen.