The ash cloud from the Iceland volcano has revealed the weakness and instability of international air travel--and the governments that both support and regulate it ( Read more... )

Once upon a time, in my childhood, there was one reason not to fly: cost.   Airline travel was expensive.   But if you could afford it (we took a trip by air to the east coast when I was eleven and one to Colorado to see my cousin graduate from the Air Force Academy when I was eighteen), it was fun and pleasant.  Just considering the actual trip ( Read more... )

My first train trip and my first airplane trip both came about 60 years ago (same trip, actually...we flew the segment that no train covered.)   So there's a depth of experience going on here...and I liked riding on both trains and airplanes.   But right now, a comparision of train travel v. air travel makes train travel the clear winner in my ( Read more... )