What's Your Vector, Victor?

this week's theme - flying in an airplane.

my sister has a mildly troubling obsession with air disasters. this does not keep her from flying, but it makes booking flights slightly more complicated. for instance, she must have a seat over the wing. in plane crashes, it has been shown that this area of the fuselage seems to stay in tact. she requests an aisle seat because it is easier to escape. she asks which plane model she will be flying on, and if the answer is a dc-10 or 737, she'll say, "i'm sorry, we'll have to do this over."

other tips i have learned from her: count the seats as you walk to yours to see how far you are from the nearest escape hatch. this way, if all the lights go out, you can count your way to safety. wear shoes that tie. slip ons will fly off on impact, and you don't want to run barefoot over broken glass and flaming metal. and, don't wear pantyhose. the intense heat will melt them to your legs.

there is other less useful information about microbursts and ailerons that really can't help you, but somehow, the knowledge leads to some sense of control. and this is it - while flying is touted as the safest way to travel, i am not in control. if it goes down, i go down with it, along with my tie shoes and panyhoseless legs. all her instruction is really no match for a $5 glass of wine.