Flyin Into Boredom

Recently I was on a volleyball trip to Brazil and sat down on my first leg to Orlando. Not too long of a flight, got an aisle which is perfect, so things were looking up. Until I realized I didn’t download anything to entertain me for the flight! Yeah, I could read my book, but the one I brought was one of those “big books”  a bit too big to be reading on the flight. Don’t want to be hitting my neighbor with that bulky thing. So I easily convinced myself I’d save it to read when I was safely in my hotel room. Which by the way I didn’t do.

After realizing I didn’t download anything and my book was “too big” to read, I decided to see how long I could do nothing on my flight. Yep, nothing. No music, no podcast, no screen pacifier for me to suck on, no friend to talk to. 

And once I settled into boredom, I started to wonder…

What was flying like back in the day? Not the early 2000’s but like the “olden days”.

What did people do on flights? There was no iPod nano, no Tamagotchi to feed, no Nintendo or Netflix. I kept thinking, what did these people do? Did they just sit there on the plane, hands folded in their laps staring at the back of the seats? Did their eyes wander the whole time? Did they (heaven forbid) have to strike friendly conversation to the person next to them? Perhaps they just pretended to sleep the entire time. 

One thing I know they didn’t do was read Sky Mall…. Before I continue my small Sky Mall rant, please tell me you remember this famous magazine….or was it just me? 

For those of you who don’t know, Sky Mall was THE magazine to read on flights when you were bored in the early 2000’s. It was located in your “seat back pocket” and it sold all the stuff we thought was junk that no one would ever buy. You could purchase things such as luxurious doggy staircases up to your beds, or fancy pillows with speakers built into them, or even intricate statues for your front lawn.

The one thought that ran through everyone’s head while reading sky mall was “Who would ever buy this stuff?”

Well, sadly, we are the ones that would be buying this stuff….10 years later on an app called “Amazon Prime.” Yep, we are those people that purchase that stuff. 

Other than Sky Mall perusing, all I can gather is that on flights these people just probably stared aimlessly or fake slept. 

Not only am I curious about what kept people busy on flights, but also my wandering “bored brain”  began questioning the flight dress code. 

Brain: What did people wear back then? 

Me: I’m sure the “haggard” look I’m rocking right now wouldn’t fly. 

I’ve asked my parents about this before, and they always told me that flying was an absolute luxury back then. You didn’t just fly just to get away after a bad breakup. Or for a Bachelorette party in Scottsdale. Or for a babymoon. You flew for business and business only. Men dressed up in suits and ties with their briefcases in hand. If you were a woman, I’m imagining them to be wearing pantyhose, under heavy wool unbreathable skirts, with cute blouses and pointy shoes. 

As I was sitting there thinking about the women’s dress code, I couldn’t help but be so uncomfortable. JUST the THOUGHT of having to wear PANTYHOSE ON A FLIGHT made me want to grab one of those puke bags in front of me. 

The last time I wore pantyhose was at my Christmas recital in 5th grade, and keeping those things up was a full-time job. A complete hassle.

Pantyhose are good for about 10 seconds. The rest of the time you either feel like you pooped your pants, or your crotch feels like it took the escalator down to your knees. Whoever created pantyhose clearly had never worn a belt before.

So if that were the case, I can say I’m sorry to all the women that had to go through that in-flight experience back in the 70’s era.

Anyway… a lot has really changed since the early flying days. There is never a boring moment on a flight in 2022. We have devices in our ears, eyes glued to screens, and mouths filled with the three P’s (peanuts, pretzels, and Perrier). I mean we’re all set up to keep us fully occupied for the flights that last upwards of 12+ hours.

Being bored on a flight isn’t as boring as you might think. I’ve watched 50+ people go to the restroom, some people only wearing socks. I heard a child cry after her iPad turned off unexpectedly, saw a guy change his movie choice four times, and watched a girl edit her Instagram photo for 20 minutes. It has been quite entertaining. 

Now I’m not here to scold anyone for doing these things. I’ve done them all, minus socks in the bathroom. I mean if you do that and are planning on burning the socks when you get to your “hotel room” go for it. Otherwise…. get Velcro shoes, they sell them on Amazon;)

If you find yourself on a flight in the near future I challenge you to be absolutely bored. You’d be surprised by what you see, what you hear, and what “bored brain thoughts” come into your head.

Bye bye for now:)