Quote Originally Posted by Bev Vincent View Post
Quote Originally Posted by RichardX View Post
The Matheson story is a real classic. I was familiar with it only via the great Twilight Zone episode but had never read it before. In looking through the TZ episodes trying to find that one again, it was interesting to note how many Twilight Zone episodes dealt with flight.

The Joe Hill story is pretty good. Even though it had obvious political overtones it wasn't overtly biased. King's story was interesting. Certainly had a unique premise (and no dog walking). It occurred to me in reading it how safe commercial flights have become. I can't remember the last airline disaster in the US which is somewhat surprising given the corporate greed of the airlines that have cut back almost every available service. Factor in weather, human and mechanical error and it is a modern marvel how safe air travel is. The only real positive, but a big one, for commercial flights these days which is otherwise torture.
These days, we hear more about the human factor -- people doing crazy things on board airplanes -- than about mechanical issues. That features in a number of our stories, including the Matheson story, where if you accept there's no gremlin, it's just a guy going crazy.

One thing I especially liked about Joe's story is how even-handed it is. We see each character from someone else's perspective and then from his or her own.
I'm old enough to remember when people used to get excited to go on flights. They would even dress up. It was a big deal. Like going on a cruise. Fun. Flying is probably a lot safer now but complete torture for the passengers. The airlines treat people like cattle or worse and then they wonder why people are stressed out and do crazy things. If there is any possible alternative to flying, I will do it. The traditional fear of flying has largely been replaced with dread of the process.