Think Before You Eat - Lesson from a Flying Lesson

I am terrified of heights and as soon as I step on a boat in the ocean I get seasick.

Today, my girlfriend, Ellie, took me along for her introductory "discover" flying lesson. Being groggy this morning, I made black tea. Rather than making a breakfast to go with that tea, I was distracted by the two packs of chicken breasts I'd purchased earlier this week. Consumed by my idea for the chicken, instead of breakfast, I started to prepare dinner. Short on time, I tabled my preparations to shower and dress before my friend picked me up to go sign the last papers on our new house. After the signing and upon stepping into my girlfriends car, I realized my mistake. I'd forgotten breakfast. I never leave the house on an empty stomach. Even if it means being late, I never leave the house on an empty stomach. Under pressure to get to the airfield on time, we stopped at McChevron - the McDonalds on North Decatur and Claremont that shares a wall with the gas station convenience store. I McPick 2 for $2.50 fries and a six piece nugget with sweet and sour sauce, and the new Big Mac Junior, really just a normal burger with that 'special' honeymustardy-mayo sauce. We drive to the airfield, get lost amongst the hangers, and called the flight school for directions just moments before stumbling upon our destination.

Once in the plane, the instructor has Ellie taxi the plane to the runway. He has her take off too. Sitting in the rear of our little Cessna, I notice his hands aren't anywhere near the controls. She's never flown a plane before. The plane pitches left and right as it climbs through the turbulence. I don't open my eyes again until we're half way across Lake Lanier. When I open my eyes, the sights are beautiful and I am terrified. Luckily, our bodies are only capable of experiencing terror for so long and the fear response wanes. It is about now, looking down at the Buford Dam, that I regret my food choices. With my body exhausted by, or at least no longer sensitive to, the stress hormones, nausea sets in. Small aircraft are very sensitive to currents. The dense food items I'd eaten an hour prior are a rock in my stomach.

When making your food choices, consider the day ahead of you, but don't get so wrapped up in your food future that you forget your food present.

Don't McDonald's and fly.


-TML