As one who for years flew 100K to 125K miles annually and now flys as few as three or four times per year it was comforting today as we flew from Phoenix to Boise Idaho to see that little if anything has changed. Leaving from Terminal 4 at Sky Harbor Airport we worked our way through TSA security – not much of an issue for me but my wife with her new stainless steel knee gets the full monty.  As a practical matter we allow at least one-half hour for the process.  While many airports have upgraded the food options that transition has not made it to the section of C concourse where our gate was located.  In that area the options were Burger King and Pizza Hut.  Gourmet dining at its best. Today we are flying Southwest so get in line and on to the aircraft.  Grab a seat and the fun begins.  I prefer aisle seats so the dodge-em game begins – me hoping to dodge my head away from the assorted items passengers bring on the plane and swing around with abandon.  Successful until someone wants the window seat and has a backpack that will not fit in either the overhead bin or under the seat in front of him.  Twice he hits me in the head with this overloaded missile and after attempting to hold it on his lap and stuff it under the seat (it would not even get between his seat and the seat back in front of him) the flight attendant mercifully took the bag from him – again narrowly missing my head – and checked it to Boise.  As the gentleman slid by me it became painfully obvious that soap and a shower were not high on his agenda.  We are set to go but evidently there is a passenger that checked luggage that has not boarded and we spent about 15 or more minutes while this was resolved.  During our wait we were serenaded by our gate agent with his “Southwest” versions of a couple of songs.  He was quite good.

We are all settled in and shortly after takeoff the “screaming baby” chorus begins and continues for about 45 minutes – one-half row behind and across the aisle from me.  Finally mom got up and walked the infant and quiet ensued.  The balance of the flight was uneventful – landed only about 5 minutes late and luggage arrived quickly.  My guess is that any of you who fly could have written this post with only minor differences at least and quite probably would have more issues that we faced.  Bon Voyage!