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Letter Rip
We love letters. Maybe it’s because our
grandmas always used to tape a quarter to our birthday cards when we
were little, and we now have this Pavlovian thing going on. Regardless,
we want to hear from you. Sing our praises, bust our chops, or just
tell us what’s on your mind. Send it to editor@americanwaymag.com.
 Yo! Free Stuff
JAY HOHFELER is the latest winner in our Favorite Letter Giveaway. What a chance to win something? Write us a letter!
In our November 1 issue, JAY HOHFELER
shared with his fellow travelers the best way to navigate the
Dallas/Fort Worth airport. To make it easy for you to spot Jay at DFW
(so you can thank him), we’re sending him Cockpit’s Top Gun Navy G-1
jacket. Complete with embroidered insignias and a removable fur collar,
the G-1 comes from a collection designed by Jeff Clyman, a World War II
combat-aircraft collector and pilot. For more information about the
collection, visit www.cockpitusa.com.
40 FABULOUS YEARS
I read with interest your article “Year in Review: 1966” [UpFront,
September 1]. There was one notable event you failed to mention,
however: my wedding. On July 2, 1966, my entire wedding party and I
flew on our first American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Chicago,
where I was married. The AA flight attendant was not only friendly and
beautiful but very gracious and accommodating. She personally took
charge of my precious carry-on — my wedding gown — which was on a
hanger in a see-through garment bag. She said she would “put it in a
safe place, by the captain.”
I’m happy to report that as I read
your current article, my husband and I were on another AA flight,
headed for Rome to celebrate our 40th anniversary! We have enjoyed
flying American all these years.
Ray and Genie Urick, Elmhurst, Illinois
Dear
Ray and Genie: Congratulations on four decades of togetherness! In
truth, it wasn’t that we forgot to include your wedding in our story.
We regretfully kept it out because we knew we wouldn’t have the space
to give it the in-depth coverage it deserved.
TALKING TRASH
Jim
Shahin’s October 1 column about the mishap he had when he called his
ISP is mistargeted. What if Mr. Shahin got in a car without knowing how
to drive and having no insurance and then crashed into a tree? How much
sympathy would he get from most of us? Why should we feel sorry for
someone who doesn’t back up data that is said to be so critical, then
embarks on an adventure for which he is ill-trained?
I
completely understand Shahin’s frustration with tech support. But
although I have talked to some fairly incompetent support staffers over
the years, I have never had anyone tell me to drag something critical
to the trash, then empty the trash, thus removing all important
documents from my computer. And, if that were to happen, I wouldn’t
lose much information, as I make backups.
If Shahin isn’t sure
how to make backups, I advise him to ask any 12-year-old he can find to
please make a backup of all of the data on his computer. Thirty minutes
later, Shahin will have a disk he can store safely. It might take as
long as an hour ... probably about as long as it took him to torpedo
all of the critical data on his computer.
George Burditt, Thousand Oaks, California
Jim
Shahin responds: Losing my data wasn’t the metaphoric result of my
driving into a tree. Extending the metaphor, it happened because a
traffic cop directed me straight into a car-totaling ditch. But I
quibble. We agree that backing up is a good idea because you never know
what ineptitude, followed by a lack of responsibility, afflicts a
service provider’s service. So, thanks for the comforting words of
advice.
THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’
I
cannot tell you how much I enjoy reading Sherri Burns’s editorials. The
first thing I do after boarding is to flip to her page to catch that
great smile she has and then to dive into the words of inspiration she
has for those of us who live on airplanes. Burns and her staff have
provided me with some great chuckles, fond memories, and plenty of
information on numerous subjects.
Remembering your 40th
anniversary issue [September 1], I think about what life was like back
then. It is amazing how the world has changed. I long for the days when
everything was simple and laid-back. Now, everything is hectic. Sunday
afternoon used to be a time when you could relax, take a break, and
enjoy the day. Today, the weekends go by so fast, and it is next to
impossible to leave the office on a Friday without thinking about the
pile of work on your desk.
We take our computers with us on
vacation to keep our e-mails down, and to go anywhere without our cell
phones would be a sin in today’s world. Good ol’ new technology. Just
imagine what life will be like in another 40 years. As to Burns’s
question about the premicrowave days: My dad ate peanuts in the office
40 years ago.
Stephen A. Travis, Issaquah, Washington
Dear
Stephen: While it’s true that we live in a society that seems to always
be on the go, it’s clear that you value taking a breath once in a
while. And, it seems that instead of using your computer to do work on
a Sunday, you use your off time to compose eloquent letters to
magazines. We’re beyond flattered.
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