They Should've Called It "Come Land with Me".

I haven't started packing anything yet to move out.  My first step is getting rid of the superfluous stuff which has accumulated in my three years here.  That includes getting around to reading all those magazines and newspapers I haven't read yet, so I can recycle them.  (It's nice, though, that I suddenly have time to read them all.)

In an old issue of Reader's Digest was an article of quotes from unidentified airline pilots.  The last one reminded me of last month's trip back home.

"Most of the time, how you land is a good indicator of a pilot's skill.  So if you want to say something nice to a pilot as you're getting off the plane, say, 'Nice landing.'  We do appreciate that."

As we approached the Albuquerque airport (ABQ), I sensed something, well, not "wrong" but "different" about the approach.  I couldn't tell you if it was a sound or a motion or what, but I knew something atypical was happening.  Even more disconcerting was observing the flight attendant's face.  (Her jump seat faced the emergency exit row immediately in front of me.)  I could tell that she knew something was up, too, but she didn't know what it was, either.  Then we heard the chime that means, "Flight attendants, pick up the handset because the captain has something to tell you."

After she hung up, I heard her explain to the passengers in the exit row that we had to pull off our approach because of winds from the wrong direction, caused by a thunderstorm that ended not long before (that's what I get for choosing a late afternoon landing during monsoon season), and that we were going to use the other runway.  The pilot didn't announce that to the planeful of passengers, though.

Even using the perpendicular runway, I could tell that the winds were disruptive to the landing.  As we exited the plane, I told the pilot he had done an "excellent job" with the landing.  I think he knew I knew the extra thought and effort he had put in, and I know he appreciated my words.

Naturally, this song is now stuck in my head (which is painful, considering how I dislike Frank Sinatra).