| Planes,
Trains & Automobiles |
| To fly or not to fly. That seems to be the question these
days. |
| Today getting from one city to another by airplane is not
as automatic as it once was. I read a story about a family
of five who drove from Canada to Florida on I-95 just to avoid
the hassles of flying. |
| "I felt like an I-95 warrior," the father said after the
1,900-mile trip. I imagine he also felt like a character from
"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." |
| That distance may be worth the expense and time of flying,
but often shorter flights these days, with all the delays,
stopovers, and possible cancellations, make driving an attractive
alternative. |
| Several times a year, I drive about 700 miles one way to
get to one of my favorite destinations. It takes me about
11 hours including gas and restroom breaks. The flight from
my home in Herndon to that same Lake Michigan destination
takes about seven to eight hours. |
| To fly I must leave my home at least two hours before my
flight from Dulles; fly for about 1-1/2 hours or more to either
Chicago or Detroit (or other cities); wait for another two
hours for the flight to Grand Rapids, Mich.; fly another 45
minutes; take 30 minutes to rent a car; and drive another
hour to my destination. |
| That's a total of almost eight hours to fly compared to
11 hours to drive. And that's the best case scenario. One
extra delay, one crowded gate, one incident or bad weather
can add hours to the trip |
| That extra three hours in the car saves me a pocketful
of money as well as my sanity. I can drive the 1,400-mile
round trip for about $125 including gas, food and tolls. Flying
for two people will cost about $600 for tickets (no deals
flying into small airports), plus an extra $150 to rent a
car. That's a savings of about $625 for the round trip. |
| There's other good things about driving: You get to see
the countryside and eat more than just peanuts. |
| |
| Sports Figure Gone Good |
| Sean Plunkett of Herndon e-mailed me this week about an
incident that happened to his children. It's both generosity
and capitalism at its best. |
| Sean says he just wanted to let us know about a really nice
story that happened a couple of weeks ago to his children,
Stephanie 10, Catherine 9 and Brian, 6. It certainly shows
a different side of sports figures one hears so often about,
he said. |
| Sean wrote that "On a sweltering Sunday, my kids decided
to set up their first lemonade stand and worked hard baking
brownies and making lemonade. They set up the stand and offered
their brownies and lemonade for 25 cents apiece. |
| "After an hour of sweating profusely in the 95 degree weather
only one person had bought lemonade and they were close to
quitting. Then all of a sudden a car pulled up and asked my
youngest daughter what they were selling and why? |
| "She said: Œto have a little fun and make lots of money.'
The individual chuckled and asked for a brownie and a lemonade
and gave her $20 dollars and said to keep the change. The
kids were overwhelmed with joy and it showed in their behavior
to upcoming cars. |
| "One hour later, with new refills on lemonade, they had
sold all the brownies and drinks. In the end they made over
$66. |
| "Thank you Champ Bailey for making a difference in my kids'
life and demonstrating that hard work and persistence often
pay off. You are indeed a champion," Sean wrote. |
| Nice to hear that at least some sports' figures aren't all
take and no give. Thanks, Sean, for writing. |
| And that's Our Town this week. |
