I remember one particular time flying a DC-10, when I got stuck in the back in the smoking section.
The DC-10 cabin was very large, and had the aspect of a small movie theater. The seats were well above the center of rotation when the plane banked, so it resembled a gaint amusement ride.
When we took off on this particular occasion, and the captain lighted the smoking lamp after a few minutes, I was impressed by the absurd spectacle of the instant and clamorous lighting and puffing of cigarettes, which immediately filled the air with smoke. I thought it was rather humorous at the time, but the experience is seared in my memory.
I’ve been a smoker for most of my life.
Flew to an insurance conference in Dallas in 1988. The return flights to Charlotte were 4/23/88 the day the partial ban on smoking went into effect, also my birthday. The new rule said we couldn’t smoke on flights less than 2 hours. The flight to Atlanta was listed at 1 hour, 59 minutes.
We boarded and sat on the runway for over 6 hours, so we kept asking, and getting told no we couldn’t smoke. Guy I was with sneaked one in the head, so I decided I’d try.
Thought I got away with it. 5 min after I came back, flight attendant came to my seat, and said “Do that again, and it’s a $10,000 fine and the police will take you off the plane. You’ll be charged with a federal crime.
I responded with something smartass about it getting me back to the terminal to get a beer and hotdog, but I never did try it again.