I can't believe that people do this on a regular basis. I can't believe no one screamed. No one. Their parents and no one dropped to their knees to pray.

Taxiing the runway really made me very very nervous. I don't think it's like when you see it on television, it's not like a freshly paved dragstrip. It was bumpy and most of the ground that we covered was concrete I could even see the vegetation growing out of the cracks in the ground. Didn't seem as sophisticated as I would have expected it. It was cold out as a son of a gun top it off. Gray skies and just the kind of weather that nobody likes.
Of this is different what's happening.... We just made it to the runway and the pilot has begun to rev the engines! Who would think that a vehicle there's big could experience such acceleration. I was pushed back in my seat, not really neck snapping, but pretty hard acceleration. I felt like I was in the dentist chair, the harder I got pushed back the more I wanted to get up and be free.
I found this the perfect time to pray, so I did. From that point on, I found myself praying on all my plane flights in the future. If God was going to take me, I wanted to be in good standing with him, and still do. The runway was smoother yet still bumpy at the same time. All of a sudden there was total smooth. No other way to describe it. I was forewarned by a friend not to be scared when I hear the landing gear going up. I'm glad I was warned about that. Then, there is that sharp incline upwards to get us out of immediate airspace into the more appropriate elevations. I became more frightened as we got higher and higher and higher. Well logically I thought to myself also that the minute we left the ground that was high enough for tragedy, what's another 30,000 feet.

If not for the courage of the fearless crew the minnow would be lost......

Bump. Bump bump. What happened to me, a first-time flyer, I don't wish on anyone. Even an adjacent person, with whom I spoke to and confessed that it was my first time, admitted that it was a very very rough flight. Literally the plane was tossed side to side, up and down, my stomach was churning in my grip was tight! The flight attendants walked up and down serving water, drinks, chips etc. just like nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Maybe to some there was nothing out of the ordinary happening. To me, will let me say this, I was not going to use the bathroom on the plane except in dire emergency.
This went on for the good part of 45 minutes and more. This is the captain speaking, we apologize for the rough flight, but we will be landing shortly. At this point my gut released, my grip lightened, and I knew it was going to be okay. This was only the first leg of the trip, the next flight would go directly to Florida. My initial impression of flying was not great. Upon visual inspection of the bread stick, I mean plane, it's amazing these flimsy things can stay in one piece and service the airline for as long as they do. I will tell you with this point, the next plane was bigger! Did it give me a false sense of security? I think it did, but I'll save that for the next installment.