En route

Delta Airlines: no blankets, cold food and headsets for sale, no movie

Turkish Airlines: personal video screens with 100+ movies on demand, pillow, blanket, eyeshade, socks, lip balm, toothrbush. Maps shwing the flight route, cameras showing what is below and ahead. Foot rest and folding head rests. Free booze. Lots of food.

. . . . . . .

Crossed just about everything off the USA shopping list during our month there, spending a thousand dollars or more in the process. It's once a year, Tom has to remind me. Had quality face time with many old and dear friends. I feel stocked up, full and ocntented, ready to go forward.

On board, perusing the SkyMall catalogue, we view a number of tracking, eavesdropping and covert filimg devices, high tech speakes, a variety of elaborate dog beds, fancy suitcases, and survival gear. All of which pretty much sums up what seems prevalent in current American culture: convenience, paranois, pampered pets. We had notices many more smart phones this year than last, and even larger flat screen TVs than before. SO many luxurious conveniences, taken for granted. Is the US tops in luxury-for-most? DOn;t know, having not spent time recently in Europe or maybe Japan. The dark side of all the technology is the barrier that it presents, the lack of human contact, the initiative squelched by automated customer "service," gas pumping, grocery store self checkouts, canned security questions. People get jammed into predetermined size boxes that purport to fit all. I love visiting but I love the out-of-the-box-ness of wilder places too.