"On every airline flight, a crew member talks to passengers in the exit rows to see whether they can, as Federal Aviation Administration regulations specify, “pass expeditiously through the emergency exit” if needed. Given how passengers have grown in inverse proportion to the spaciousness of airliner seats, anything like “expeditious” evacuation of an entire airliner seems doubtful."
The story is sordid and long, but the details were made clear by Matt Viser's excellent Globe piece. To wit: Lorenzo sold the Donald the Eastern Shuttle for an overvalued $365 million (if DT had created a brand-new shuttle from the ground up with brand-new planes, not old worn-out 727s, estimates were that he could have done it for $300 million.) Of course, the money was all borrowed. It was 1989; Eastern (and Continental) were already almost dead from Lorenzo's sledgehammer and the economy was tanking. Pan Am 103 was bombed, the first Gulf War was about to begin. It was incredibly bad judgement to overpay a bunch of other peoples' money for something that was guaranteed to tank.
I knew I was close to home when I encountered a truck carrying Brad Paisley's "Life Amplified" Tour headed for Music City. Posted by...
The Tennessee River flowing out of Kentucky Lake and dam rolling on to its meeting place with the Ohio. That water will be in...
Structure of the MLK Bridge. Posted by Steve Pollock on Monday, August 8, 2016
Frank didn't tell me he's running for governor of Missouri. I might be like Bill Clinton, First Gentleman of Missouri! (I think this road...
I found four Pokemons. What'll I get for 'em? They're not Pokemons? No? Shoot. Posted by Steve Pollock on Sunday, August 7, 2016
Off I go! Road trip to Falls City, NE, to speak in honor of victims of Braniff flight 250, crashed 50 years ago this...
Is it Cookeville? … YES! … but why?! Posted by Steve Pollock on Saturday, March 26, 2016
Is it Smithville? McMinnville throughthat very dirty windshield? Nooooooo … Posted by Steve Pollock on Saturday, March 26, 2016
Us? On a road trip? On a Saturday morning?! Now what's up with this? <Shhhhhh! It's a surprise! His Majesty The Roux monitors my...
One week from tonight, we will have begun our journey out of California … for the third, and hopefully last, time. We’ll be on...
« Photos from Day Five » Last Long Leg Written @ 08:35 MST | Saturday 15-Jul-06 | Salt Lake City, UT This morning after...
« Photos from Day Four » Wyoming is Almost Done Written @ 12:00 MST | Friday 14-Jul-06 | Little America, WY Last night, we...
« Photos from Day Three » Rainy Again Written @ 11:42 CST | Thursday 13-Jul-06 | Gothenberg, NE We hit a small spot of...
« Photos from Day Two » Field of Opportunity Written @ 12:44 CST | Wednesday 12-Jul-06 | West Des Moines, IA After getting up...
Frank usually handles these things and does a far, far better job of it. I’m pretty stream-of-consciousness on my trip writing, while he does...
« Photos from Day One » The Very Rough Last Night in A2 Written @ 13:30 EST | Tuesday, 11-Jul-06 | Ann Arbor, MI...
Okay, so I thought the next post would be from Davenport, IA, but, thanks to one of the most wonderful women in the world,...
No, not of the shuttle Discovery, of my final week in Ann Arbor. It now seems like an amazingly fast three years. I’ve so...
I get homesick for the Bay Area every now and then, but not on days like this: Officials are continuing their negotiations with a...
‘I sat in the Delhi airport and watched the big electric clock in the departure hall that tells passengers when to board. I thought...