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© 2022 Catherine Haslag, All Rights Reserved
© 2022 Catherine Haslag, All Rights Reserved
Obtained from Canva
© Catherine Haslag
© Catherine HaslagPre-Flight
I flew for the first time when I was 10. I went with my grandma and uncle to California to visit my other uncle. We flew TWA out of St. Louis.
I recently took my first plane trip in 2 years. I flew to Las Cruces to visit some friends. As I sat in Chicago for three hours waiting for my connecting flight, I started thinking about how air travel has changed since I took my first flight in 1990.
We used to stand in line at the airport to check in and get our boarding passes. It was common to check a bag and you were allowed to check one for free. Now, I check in from my cell phone. It costs $30-$50 to check a bag, so I pack everyone I need in my carry-on. If it’s not necessary for the trip, I don’t take it. I have gotten really good at packing light.
Boarding passes were printed. You had to be careful notto lose it. I spent a lot of time checking my pockets to make sure I still had it. They also doubled as a great bookmark for the trip. Now, I pull my boarding pass up on my cell phone or watch. No more checking pockets and no more handy bookmarks.
I don’t remember having any layovers when I was a kid. It was a lot more common to get a direct flight from St. Louis to California or D.C. Now, I always expect a layover. I can’t tell you the last time I flew and didn’t have a layover in Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW), or Denver (DEN). Oddly enough, I have never had a layover in Atlanta (ATL).
I remember my grandparents, uncles, cousin, and I all going to the airport together when I was a kid. When my Uncle Dick flew in or out for a visit, we went and sat with him at the gate until he boarded his flight, or we met him right at the gate, searching the faces of the people walking up the gangway for his. Now, those human moments of hugs and delight at seeing your loved one again happen at baggage claim or in the “kiss and fly” zone. Unless you are a ticketed passenger, you aren’t getting past security.
There were meals and a snack on the planes. Every flight. I would get off a plane with a full belly. As a kid, I was very concerned with what our flight would be serving. Now, you are lucky to get a drink and a cookie. Airlines don’t give nuts out on flights anymore because of allergies. The only meals I see served on planes are for international flights…and they aren’t as good as they used to be.
There used to be in-flight movies, usually a family-friendly film that was recently released but may or may not be in theaters at the time of the flight. It was projected on a few screens scattered throughout the plane. Now, large planes offer each passenger their own mini entertainment center with movies and TV shows they can scroll through and choose from. If your flight doesn’t offer you this option, most travelers have a phone or tablet they can watch downloaded movies and TV shows on to view in flight.
There have been changes in luggage styles, services offered in the airport, the way passengers dress and entertain themselves on flights. Walkmans have been replaced by ear pods and iPhones. Books and trashy magazines are still a standard. Hudson News is still a standard shop in many airports.
Security has changed too. You still run your bags through a scanner, but now you have to take off all jackets, shoes, and items that aren’t the layer above your bra and panties. Body scans are standard practice, often followed with a pat-down that in other situations would qualify as sexual assault. I have literally had a woman with TSA put her hands in my pants. When I went through security for my first flight, my 10-year-old self didn’t have to strip first and no one touched me inappropriately.
Another sign of the times and how much things have changed. Something common and mostly insignificant that reveals so much more about what our world was and is becoming.
What the Wind Told
Cover of What the Wind Told by Betty Boegehold.
One of my favorite books of all time came into my life on a Halloween night. A neighbor lady worked at Scholastics and gave out candy and books to trick-or-treaters. I was the last kid to come to her house one year so I was the lucky recipient of half a crystal punch bowl of candy and a stack of books. A jackpot of massive proportions to someone who could still count their age and not use all their fingers to do so. One of the books in my acquisition was titled What the Wind Told.
The story of the Old Woman’s Window.
Published in 1974 and written by Betty Boegehold, this book tells the story of Tossy, a little girl who is homesick and bored out of her mind. She eventually asks the Wind to tell her stories about the windows across the way to help her pass the time. The Wind tells Tossy stories of a woman whose kitchen floor turns into a pond during the day, a family of plants who keep their children on the window sill, and a dog who sits typing names for things all day long.
The story of the Old Dog’s Window.
What the Wind Told opened my child-mind to the idea that each window contains a story. I wanted to learn those stories. To this day, I enjoy touring other’s homes and looking at their houses as I walk down the street. Each window tells a story about the people who live there. The widower who hasn’t changed anything in the living room since his wife died. The family of 6 who lives in a 2-bedroom house. Bunk beds stacked in one bedroom with sheets in the windows for curtains. The retired neighbor who loves to sit on his 3-season porch and wave at passers-by. The immigrant family who purchased their first home and is chasing their American Dream.
Drool and Gool hiding in the middle of their apartment, terrified.
More than 30 years later this book still inspires my imagination. A home a few doors down from where I live has captivated me for years. It reminds me of the Scary window described by the Wind. The windows are dark and the curtains are always drawn. I never see anyone come and go from the house. There is no car in the driveway or garage. There are never any tire tracks in the snow come winter and the sidewalk is never shoveled. Sometimes I see a cat in the window, staring back in boredom. There are decorations by the door and someone does live there, but there is no evidence of this other than the bored window cat and dumpster and recycling found weekly at the curb. Every time I walk by this house, I imagine that Drool and Gool are hunkered down in a pile of furniture in the living room, hoping no one calls or knocks.
Unfortunately, What the Wind Told is out of print and copies of it are very expensive. I am so thankful for the neighbor who gave me this book when I was a child. It sparked my imagination and taught me that windows are glimpses into others’ lives. The stories our windows tell about us are beautiful and incomplete. A glance at the private lives contained in our homes and hearts.
PLEASE NOTE: All photos used in this blog were taken from my copy of What the Wind Told and are not my personal work or of my creative labor. They were used in this blog to help communicate the essence of the book and provide an illustration of the stories the author was telling.
A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to Alvina Jaegers for the Halloween candy and books. Your house was my favorite to visit on Halloween night.