Certainly the idea of a "cruising altitude" anywhere was a tempting notion. But even— or maybe especially— at 30,000 feet, there were bumps: Solicitation for credit cards, travelers’ anxiety seeping out of tapping appendages and shoved into overhead compartments, "naturally" flavored water that smelled like a scratch and sniff of Barbie’s bathroom, the literal parade of one class behind another, warm nuts for some, cheese in plastic for all, catapulting through thin or was it thick air in a steel can. Talk of Phoenix, and prices, a family visit, abject spreadsheets on a grey PC, fingers caked in chip dust, and with all of this— at the same time— the total magnificence of flying though the air. The sublimity of clouds in spectacular arrays, neat partitions of quilted farmland, the rare glimpse into the aqua pans of kidney-shaped pools usually hidden from view, and houses gradually stuttering into industrial sprawl. Even with all the attempts at clear demarkations up here— preparation for landing and initial decent— there was also a glimpse of other freedoms: perhaps even breaking away from the singular center of this particular floating marble, now offering up its runway. Please allow four weeks for construction once order has been placed and note: All made-to-order garments are final sale. Dry Clean Only 100% Silk Chiffon
