Doc Tales

December 4, 2019 — Harry Snelson

As I write this, I'm seated on a flight from Chicago to Ft. Myers, Florida in early December. The thing that struck me as I boarded was the overwhelming preponderance of old people on this flight. Now granted, I'm no spring chicken myself. I've noticed there are very few age categories below mine on survey forms anymore, but these folks fell into that category at the very bottom of the list. The one that starts with a really high number followed by a plus sign. I think some of these folks were traveling to Florida for a reunion of participants in Ponce de Leon's original journey to find the Fountain of Youth. Back when the Everglades was just a damp spot.

I've never been on a flight before where they made you complete a Do Not Resuscitate form before taking your seat. When we deplaned, the elderly gentleman in front of me stopped and asked the pilot (who was no whipper snapper himself), "Where did you learn to fly?" To which the pilot responded, "During the war." The old guy glanced back up at him and said, "Oh yeah, the first or second?"

Now I'm not saying that the airline catered to this specific clientele, but they served a snack halfway through the flight that consisted of Jell-O and what appeared to be either prune juice or Geritol. After taking my seat, I glanced up at the overhead panel housing the flight attendant call button. There, next to the button, was a sign saying, "Brought to you by Life Alert." The airline had removed all the seatback monitors and replaced them with portable oxygen generators and defibrillators.

Ok, I admit, I may be taking some minor liberties with the facts in the reporting of this event, but I do so to illustrate a point - a lot of old people fly to Florida in December!

---

Harry Snelson is the Executive Director of AASV