It's Alive

A passenger boarded my flight this week, and like many before her, commented on how small the aircraft was. The flight attendant jokingly responded that the plane's feelings would be hurt if she talked about it in such a fashion. They passenger's reply: "It doesn't have feelings."

Perhaps if the traveler in question wasn't a redneck from Mobile, AL she wouldn't be so ignorant of her situation.

The fact is, the airplane is a living, breathing organism, not very different from you or I. It breathes oxygen which it circulates throughout itself in life-sustaining fashion. It burns sustainance to keep itself alive and moving. It has a skin that expands and contracts, and protects its delicate interior from the harsh elements. It has a skeleton, designed to withstand impact, give the organism it's shape, and strengthen the overall entity. It has joints built to move its extremeties thus allowing it to move with more agility. It has a vascular system. Tubes stretch throughout its entire body delivering precious fluids to the vital organs that could not otherwise perform their duties. It has a nervous system. A brain consisting of several "lobes," some monitoring the performance of it's many parts, others making decisions and performing calculations. Several long spinal chords relay messages from the many parts and pieces up to the brain. The airplane reacts to pain and danger. It recognizes and informs the brain of impending disaster. The airplane has a heart. The great thundering engine, churning within itself and pumping life throughout every part of the being.

The airplane has a soul: The pilot