[ohioWfan]

OOooh, I caught you before I got pinged tonight!

Thanks again for all your work, rintense!!

Did anyone catch the Presidents Q & A today? He was kidding around with the people in the press, and when he laughed, he did the old "shake the shoulders" thing! It was great!! Even with all the pressure his sense of humor is intact!! Gotta love it!!

I'm going to be gone for a few days. I'm going to visit my 2 college aged kids out of state, and I'm flying! I'm not really scared, but not exactly relaxed either, and wouldn't mind a few prayers! :o)

[McGavin999]

Well, you've got my prayers, but just to be safe, take along a pound of bacon with you. If you're hijacked, open that sucker up and just pelt that guy with raw bacon. If you're going to die, the least you can do is die happy knowing he can't get into paradise if he dies with a dead pig on him. :o)

[ohioWfan]

He was kidding around with the people in the press, and when he laughed, he did the old "shake the shoulders" thing! It was great!!

Number 8's a picture of the laugh!!

Did you also hear him say that he had been spending a lot of "quality time" with the head of the CIA??
Funny guy!!

[rep-always]

Will be praying for your safety and a wonderful time with your children. God bless you. Rintense, once again, you outdo yourself. Thanks for all your efforts. Believe me they are truly appreciated. God bless President Bush, his cabinet and this nation. Amen.

[rintense]

Yes, he looked very relaxed today. Perhaps he's realized that his public appearances affect all of us too. If he laughs, we laugh. If he is mad, we are mad... I think it's time for us to laugh for a little bit.

[MJY1288]

You will be fine, flying is safer now than it ever was, Just have a good time and we will look forward to your return.....

MJY

[Carolinamom]

OWF.....take care and let us all know when you get there.

rintense, I never tire of thanking you for this nightly pleasure. You're a real patriot.

[admiralsn]

Best bit of flying advice I've heard yet. Heard it on Paul Harvey (and verified at www.snopes.com):

This was from a 9/15 flight from Denver to Dulles...

The pilot/captain came on the loudspeaker after the doors were closed. His speech went like this:

"First I want to thank you for being brave enough to fly today. The doors are now closed and we have no help from the outside for any problems that might occur inside this plane. As you could tell when you checked in, the government has made some changes to increase security in the airports. They have not, however, made any rules about what happens after those doors close. Until they do that, we have made our own rules and I want to share them with you.

Once those doors close, we only have each other. The security has taken care of a threat like guns with all of the increased scanning, etc. Then we have the supposed bomb. If you have a bomb, there is no need to tell me about it, or anyone else on this plane; you are already in control. So, for this flight, there are no bombs that exist on this plane.

Now, the threats that are left are things like plastics, wood, knives, and other weapons that can be made or things like that which can be used as weapons.

Here is our plan and our rules. If someone or several people stand up and say they are hijacking this plane, I want you all to stand up together. Then take whatever you have available to you and throw it at them. Throw it at their faces and heads so they will have to raise their hands to protect themselves.

The very best protection you have against knives are the pillows and blankets. Whoever is close to these people should then try to get a blanket over their head -- then they won't be able to see. Once that is done, get them down and keep them there. Do not let them up. I will then land the plane at the closest place and we WILL take care of them. After all, there are usually only a few of them and we are 200+ strong! We will not allow them to take over this plane.

I find it interesting that the US Constitution begins with the words "We, the people" -- that's who we are, THE people and we will not be defeated."

With that, the passengers on the plane all began to applaud, people had tears in their eyes, and we began the trip toward the runway.

The flight attendant then began the safety speech. One of the things she said is that we are all so busy and live our lives at such a fast pace. She asked that everyone turn to their neighbors on either side and introduce themselves, tell each other something about your families and children, show pictures, whatever. She said "for today, we consider you family. We will treat you as such and ask that you do the same with us."

Throughout the flight we learned that for the crew, this was their first flight since Tuesday's tragedies. It was a day that everyone leaned on each other and together everyone was stronger than any one person alone. It was quite an experience.

You can imagine the feeling when that plane touched down at Dulles and we heard "welcome to Washington Dulles Airport, where the local time is 5:40". Again, the cabin was filled with applause.

[JulieRNR21]

Will certainly keep your safety in my prayers. Enjoy visiting your kids. Please give us a report on airline safety when you return. BTW leave your nail clippers at home.

[GUIDO]

I'm going to be gone for a few days. I'm going to visit my 2 college aged kids out of state, and I'm flying! I'm not really scared, but not exactly relaxed either, and wouldn't mind a few prayers! :o)

Hope you are flying Southwest Airlines, but no matter who you fly have a great trip and enjoy those kids and give them a hug. From an airline employee thanks for flying we truly appreciate people like you and hope on this trip whoever you fly gives you back confidence in the airline industry once again.

[patriciaruth]

I'm flying!

Brava!

Note the passenger profile. When I flew on the 18th, I was the only unaccompanied woman on board, and only one other woman there was with her husband. And the men, they all looked like they had been in the marines or knew how to street fight. A very interesting planeload of fearless people.

You'll be in good company.

Remember, you can throw things. Like shoes, purses, etc. Now that we know what they're up to, we won't be marching quietly into the gas chambers.

[Calpublican]

I pray every morning for my children (even Psycho_Bunny). I'll say a prayer for you. God bless you.

[mombonn]

Thanks as always for the thread, Rintense.

Prayer on the way for your trip, ohioWfan. Have a good time with your kids.

[Corporate Law]

Have a safe trip.