Fly the Conrad skies

Yesterday we flew to Los Angeles so that Jean could present a poster at the American Library Association annual meeting. (I'm not really sure what it means to "present a poster." Do you just point at it and go, "Ta da!"? I suppose I could ask her but Conrad is nursing and I've been shushed.)

As many of you know, or if you didn't already and know me, could have guessed, I was more than a little apprehensive about this trip. I'm far too concerned about disturbing other people and I imagined all kinds of uncomfortable scenarios. I realize in retrospect they all boiled down to, "What if he cries?"

Well he did cry, maybe two or three times in the combined five or so hours we were on planes: once or twice because he was hungry and once because he was tired. And it wasn't a big deal. Nobody gave us the stinkeye. Nobody rolled his eyes. Mostly people smiled and waved at Conrad. On the first leg to Chicago we were in the bulkhead row immediately behind first class, and one slick-looking businessman passed us a blanket unbidden, just because he knew we could use it.

One colleague recommended a strategy which may well have paid off. "Just keep standing up and letting everybody see how cute he is."

All in all a much more positive experience than I predicted, with the added benefit that our trip at the end of July - just to Chicago and no further - should feel like a short hop.

One complaint, however. I've been flying for 37 years. The year I have a baby is the year that American Airlines stops allowing pre-boarding for parents traveling with young children?