A Boeing 747 en route from New York JFK to Liege, Belgium, was forced to turn around on November 9 after a horse got loose in the cargo hold.

The cargo flight operated by charter airline Air Atlanta Icelandic had climbed to around 31,000 feet when the crew contacted Air Traffic Control in Boston to report that the horse had escaped from its stall.

“We don’t have a problem (…) flying-wise,” one of the pilots says in a video reconstruction by YouTube channel “You Can See ATC,” but “we cannot get the horse back secured.” (CNN)

Wanna be an airline pilot?

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Just swapping 30 minutes of sitting for 30 minutes of sleeping each day lowered overall body mass by nearly 1 pound.

And sliced about two-thirds of an inch from waistlines.

“The question is, if you have a restorative or recharging sleep, is that better than sitting on the couch eating and watching TV?

And I suspect the answer is yes, because so many people are deficient in sleep,” said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness.

Obviously, regular, strenuous exercise is best, but the comparison between sleeping & sitting may be helpful.

We really looked forward to visiting our son, his wife and our grandchildren in Washington D.C.

The flight would only take 90 minutes and we’d be there!

We’d have to take a connecting flight through Newark.

My wife embraced all the details needed to set it up.

It was the first time we travelled with our tickets on her cell phone.

She did a great job of learning all the new details.

When we landed in Newark, we were shocked to notice no one our age except those in wheelchairs! The same for our Detroit Airport and Ronald Reagan in Washington!

It was quite sobering.

Our son met us at our ultimate destination which made it so convenient.

We had a wonderfull time with them.

And the various challenges to modern air travel were “lept over!”

I don’t think, however, that air travel is for the faint of heart!

United Airlines recently changed its boarding process in an attempt to save two minutes per plane on the ground.

A plane on the ground is not making money for the airline.

The more you pay, the sooner you can get on the plane and the less likely you will have to check a bag, which would result in more waiting at the other end of the flight.

But as one who has been in Group Six and faced the glare of others while walking to her seat at the back of the plane, she can only hope this change will be good for passengers too.

It’s not just airlines, it’s also museums, online purchases and amusement parks where VIP status can help you avoid lines.

When did the act of waiting get such a bad rap? (Maggie Mulqueen, Psychologist)

Cell phones, social media and a society in overdrive can become a challenge to family unity.

And yet it’s important to “stay in touch.”

Our family has decided to join in on a ZOOM call in the evening of every other Monday.”

Like many families, we are dealing with the lives of three generations.

Our childhhood was much different than those of our children.

Our childrens’ childhood was much different than those of their children.

The problems of each generation are unique and hard to understand without regular contact.

But, I think we must make the effort!

If not today, when?

I can’t!

We have a daughter-in-law who never has the TV on in her house except for when her husband (our son) watches sports.

She has a wonderful, highly productive life w/o knowing the awful things people are doing to one another.

The crazy thing about watching the news is that it gets us upset, but there is little we can do about what we just saw and heard.

So, we carry that upsetting news item around with us until we learn about another disturbing news item that we carry.

And on it goes.

Want some peace in your life?

I’ve got some old fashioned advice.

Curl up with a good book!

A good book takes you away from all the nonsense and into a world of your choosing.

Try it. You’ll like it.

If not today, when?

Chris Caputo had piloted military and commercial aircraft over a long career, racking up thousands of flight hours, but the trip he was about to take would be very different.

That’s because the airplane Mr. Caputo would fly runs on batteries.

Over the next 16 days, he and his colleagues flew the plane, a CX300 built by their employer, Beta Technologies, down the East Coast.

They would make nearly two dozen stops to rest and recharge, flying through congested airspace over Boston, New York, Washington and other cities.

When the journey came to an end in Florida, Beta handed the plane over to the Air Force, which will experiment with it over the next few months. The trip offered a vision of what aviation could look like years from now. (NYT)

I wrote a blog about a solar powered car and now a battery powered airplane.

Technology does not rest!

It is born.

It lives through its youthful days.

Eventually, it grows into old age (Like the leaf in the photo above).

And dies.

Each SPRING, it SPRINGS into life.

It takes a while before we notice its youthful stage.

But, it enriches our lives with its robust green color and relaxing shade from the sun.

Finally, we watch it grow into old age.

As it passes on, however, it leaves on the tree branch a small bud that will blossom next SPRING!

And so it goes in its own cycle of life.

Thank GOD for the leaf!

If not today, when?

Quite a few studies have been done on the potential benefits of retro walking, a common term for walking backward.

Participants who walked backward on a treadmill for 30 minutes at a time over four weeks increased their balance, walking pace and cardiopulmonary fitness, according to a March 2021 study.

“I think it’s amazing to add in some backwards motion to your day,” said Grayson Wickham, a physical therapist at Lux Physical Therapy.

“People are sitting way too much today, plus they lack varied movement.” (CNN)

If you’re going to try it, be careful!

If you make the same mistake twice, that’s one lesson not learned.

Perhaps the motive for making the first mistake still exists.

And so you may tend to make it again.

Let’s face it, none of us are perfect decision makers..

When we make a mistake, it might help to ask ourselves, “What did I learn from it?”

Self analysis is often a great teacher.

Listen to your teacher!