The Little Bitty Scary Airplane

On Saturday, I’ll be flying down to Texas for a week-long visit with family and friends. This’ll be the first time I’ve had any time off since I began my job back in March.
I’ve worked hard.
I deserve a break.

I’m really looking forward to going home, for it’s been a long time since I’ve been down there and I miss my family.

However, I’m not particularly looking forward to the flight down there. Usually, I fly to Austin, rent a car, and drive the 120 miles south to Victoria Texas where my mom lives. Occasionally, though, I’ll fly to Houston and then take a little bitty scary airplane directly to Victoria. It costs a bit more, the little-bitty airplane can be scary, but it’s so convenient. The little bitty airport is about a mile from my mom's house.

That’s what I’m doing this time. I’m flying in a Regular Airplane (i.e. one big enough to have flight attendants that serve vodka) and then I transfer in Houston to the Little Bitty Scary Airplane for the 40 minute flight to Victoria.

I never know what kind of airplane the Little Bitty Scary Airplane is actually going to be. Once, it was almost a Regular Airplane, and another time it was soooo small. My cousin, Patrick, is an airplane fanatic and always wants to know what kind of airplane flies to Victoria.

"I don't know. It had loud propellors. From the size of it, I'd say it was a Boeing 'Seven.'"

There always seems to be An Incident on the Little Bitty Scary Airplane.

One time, the pilot who looked like he was about eighteen and named “Scooter,” slammed on the brakes right before takeoff. Ignerto-the-mechanic scurried out and did something with a wrench. This, apparently, enabled Scooter to take off again.

Another time, Scooter announced that we had been cleared to land at Victoria Regional Airport. I mumbled, “What? Did they have to remove a COW from the runway?”

Ha ha ha.

Then, Scooter announced that he couldn’t tell if the landing gear was down or not. That announcement really bathed us in comfort. So, we flew all the way back to Houston where the tower people could visibly verify that the landing gear was, indeed, employed and functioning. (There is no tower in Victoria).

Such fun!

Then there was the time that we flew from Houston to Victoria directly through 120 miles of the most violent thunderstorms God ever created. I was seated in the back by the ice bin (in row “three”) and at one point we hit a bump so hard that its contents hit the ceiling above me. Thwack! It took Scooter two tries to land the plane, probably dodging funnel clouds on the way down.

So, I’m looking forward to my flight home. It's always fun land there and see mom with her smiling face pressed up against the glass at the little bitty airport. That's something you miss out on when you fly to a Regular Airport.

I just hope they remember to remove any errant cows ahead of time.