My daughter just turned six years old.

It was time.

I knew just the present to give to her.

So I bought her two airline tickets for her birthday: Full-fare regular tickets. No standby. One for her and one for me.

On United Airlines, of course. To Chicago, of course. Heck, why not?

We boarded the plane as regular paying passengers. We sat down together and I buckled her in. She held the safety card and smiled at the demo. Her eyes were as wide as golf balls and she squealed as our plane pushed back.

The passengers across from us had their noses buried in their iMissLife devices. Same with the kids behind us. And ditto for an elderly couple in front of us (only he was reading some magazine about three perfect days somewhere).

A 747 roared past us and landed on the runway. A ding chime echoed throughout the cabin.

My daughter gripped my arm. Tightly.

"Daddy daddy daddy we are going to go in the sky!!!!!!!!!!"

We suddenly turned a sharp right, and for one brief second she could see the straight runway stretching out to infinity.

It all came back to me. That feeling. It's not gone. It's just buried most of the time. Buried beneath (and stuck between) middle age and knowing just way too much about airplanes, flying, schedules, and I guess, well, life. I'm sure the guy who works at Disneyland knows a bit too much about Fantasyland as well. And that sucks for him also.

But it came back. All of it. Everything I love about flying. Everything I love about United Airlines. Everyone, everything, and the entire experience. It was all there. But the best part was that I now get to share it wi---

"DADDY!! DADDY!!! DADDYYYYY!!"

The engines roared. The plane thrust forward. I couldn't resist any longer and took the quick photo you see here. I want her to show it to her grandchildren.

As the wheels lifted up and we reached toward the sky, a small, contented smile went over her face.

That's why we do what we do.

Christopher Lee
Onboard United Airlines flight
Somewhere en route to Chicago

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