Flight attendant Steven Slater may avoid jail

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who popped the slide and grabbed a beer after an altercation with a passenger, is scheduled to appear in court today. According to a report on Fox 5 New York (broadcast), he’s expected to plead guilty. The Associated Press reports that he may be eligible for an alternative sentencing program, such as treatment or community service (depending on his mental health evaluation). Maybe this means he won’t be a hero to flight attendants and other aviation professionals any longer.

In case you missed it:

The incident occurred Aug. 9 aboard a JetBlue Airways Corp. flight from Pittsburgh that had just landed at Kennedy International Airport. Slater got on the plane’s loudspeaker, cursed at passengers, then slid down the plane’s emergency slide.

The crazy flight attendant no longer works for JetBlue, having resigned. A career in reality television seems unlikely. I do wonder, though, if he’ll celebrate Halloween dressed as himself.

Dí­a de los Muertos celebrations around the US

by Pat Perrin on

Skulls made of sugar, dancing skeletons in fancy dress, colorful masks decorated with flowers … these are all part of the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations that spring from deep in Mexican history. The Day of the Dead is not a scary holiday even though it takes place so close to Halloween. It’s a warm family celebration in honor of relatives and friends who have passed away. Each year, Mexican graveyards and home altars are decorated with gifts, food, and drinks left for the dead-toys, sweets, atole (a hot, tasty Mexican drink), tequila, and whatever other favorites might entice spirits to hear the prayers and remembrances held for them.

The right kind of flower is especially important. Marigolds — their petals sometimes scattered in paths from graveyards to homes — are thought to guide dead spirits back to the world of the living for a happy family reunion.

Although the dates for the Day of the Dead vary from place to place, November 1st is often the day honoring dead children, and while November 2nd is for adults. The tradition is thought to date back thousands of years to pre-Columbian times, and these days it continues not only throughout Mexico but in many United States communities as well. Wherever you might be traveling late in October or early in November, it’s well worth checking for a Día de los Muertos celebration. You’ll find wonderful food, music, performances, and parades. There’s usually a hands-on workshop or two where you can learn to make sugar skulls, puppets, papier mâché masks, traditional treats, and the lovely altars that families build in remembrance of the departed.

U.S. cities that celebrate the Day of the Dead include Seattle, Austin, El Paso, Phoenix, Houston, Santa Fe, Tucson, Missoula, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Portland, Cleveland, Longmont (Colorado), and many others around the country. The dates of these local fiestas vary, so check ahead. Here’s how the Día de los Muertos is honored in a few big cities…

New York City
New York City comes alive on the Day of the Dead with activities all over town. The world-famous Brooklyn Children’s Museum celebrates with puppet-making, Mayan hot chocolate, and other traditional treats on November 2. Free with museum admission.

Altar exhibits, mariachi performances, special treats, free workshops, and a Mexican Market are sponsored by Mano a Mano in the churchyard of St. Mark’s in-the-Bowery. Free and open to the public on October 29-31.

A Día de los Muertos art exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art runs from September 10 – December 13.

Family activities at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian include live entertainment, and hands-on crafts activities on October 30.

Washington D.C.
Everyone is invited to The Mexican Cultural Institute Día De Los Muertos Open House on October 31. The altars-dedicated this year to the Mexican Revolution-will be on display through the month of November.

A two-day celebration at the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall offers demonstrations and hands-on crafts, live dance and music performances, films, and a display of Guatemalan kites on October 30-31.

On October 30 at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia, you can view Day of the Dead themed artwork, listen to mariachis, and paint sugar skulls. In the evening, a parade of people-and-dogs-in-costume is led by Day of the Dead puppets. The evening culminates with a masquerade and dancing.

Los Angeles
Every Mexican community in LA has their own festivities, from family events at local cemeteries to neighborhood block parties. The one on Olvera Street, also known as El Pueblo Historic Monument, features altars, exhibits, entertainments, and a Pre-Columbian procession each night from October 25 through November 2.

The Hollywood Forever Cemetary, Los Angeles’s oldest memorial park, invites guests to their celebrations on October 30. The hosts suggest you come dressed as a calaca (traditional Day of the Dead skeleton).

All over L.A., theaters and clubs will offer special events, and popular celebrations are also held in San Pedro, Pasadena, and other local communities.

San Francisco
This year San Francisco got started early with installations at the SOMArts Cultural Center on Friday October 15. The exhibit ends with a closing reception on November 6.

On November 2, the Mission District, the center of San Francisco’s predominantly Hispanic community, is the place to be for traditional Día de los Muertoscelebrations. You’ll find workshops on creating altars, sugar skulls, and papel picado (decorative Mexican paper cutting) at the Mission Cultural Center, Casa Bonampak, and Encantada Art Gallery. A festival of altars is held at Garfield Park, and you can join an annual procession led by the Rescue Culture Collective.

Pat Perrin spent years training horses on a Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, farm. Her diverse books include the historical novel Anna’s World, set in late 1840s America. Read her blog on Red Room.

[Photos: Flickr | uteart_away.picking.seashells; sfmission.com; -Chupacabras-]

Airline fees never going away, $1.2 billion in first half

by Tom Johansmeyer on

In the first six months of 2010, U.S. airlines raked in $1.2 billion – and that’s just from change and cancellation fees. The industry is on track to see $2 billion in revenue just on ticket-related fees this year.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, here’s where the money’s going:

  1. Delta had the most at $347.1 million in the first half of 2010
  2. American Airlines was a distant second at $235.3 million in ticket related change fees
  3. United Airlines pulled in $158.3 million
  4. US Airways generated $128.3 million from ticket fees
  5. Continental Airlines picked up $120 million

JetBlue didn’t hit the top five (finishing sixth), but it did lead the low-cost category in change and cancellation fees, with $55.7 million.

[photo by cliff1066 via Flickr]

Hotels.com offers three and four-star hotels for $99 or less

by Melanie Nayer on

Hotels.com® just launched their $99 or Less promotion, which offers many travelers an awesome break on three and four-star hotel prices.

Featuring nearly 2,000 hotels in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean, travelers who book by November 1 and travel by November 15 can enjoy deluxe accommodations on a limited budget.

Need some enticing? No problem…

How about the Palms Resort in Negril, Jamaica. The three-and-a-half-star property is situated near a beach and offers guests ocean or garden view rooms. Rooms start at $85 a night.

Head to the San Juan Water and Beach Club Hotel in Carolina, Puerto Rico for just $95 a night. Recommended by 79% of past guests, this three-and-a-half-star property is pet friendly, has an outdoor pool, a spa, and is within walking distance to the San Juan beach.

If Sin City is more your style, rooms at four-star properties like Treasure Island Hotel and Casino start at $60 a night.

At the Hotel Allandale, in Austin, Texas, not only will you relax in comfort and style but you’ll only pay $85 a night for this three-star Southern hospitality.

Five reasons why the Amtrak Acela Express is far superior to flying

by Tom Johansmeyer on

There are four basic ways to travel among Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. You can fly, drive, ride a bus or take a train. Every traveler has his preference, but having played with all four options, I’ve found that hitting the rails is the right one for me, an increasingly popular position. I hate to be behind the wheel (a side-effect of living in Manhattan), and buses do tend to be slow, uncomfortable and unpleasant (though incredibly inexpensive). Flying … well, flying is everything a bus is only more expensive, a little bit faster and still slower, usually than driving or taking the train.

Usually, my decision on how to travel these routes comes down to flying versus rail. There’s no choice any more. Last weekend, I took the Amtrak Acela Express on a Boston-to-New York round trip, my second this year, and I was thrilled with every aspect of the experience.

Here are five reasons why the Acela is far, far superior to air travel in the Bos-Wash corridor:1. Save time up front: whether you’re in Boston or New York, you don’t have to leave the middle of the city to get to your transportation, and the same holds when you arrive at your destination. In New York, you get on at Penn Station, and in Boston, you can choose either South Station or Back Bay Station.

2. Save more time up front: the track isn’t announced until around 15 minutes before your train departs. So, don’t worry about having to get there an hour early or longer. I know, I know: for the Delta Shuttle, you don’t have to get to Marine Air Terminal an hour early, either. If you’re flying at a peak time (think Friday at 5 PM or Monday at 7 AM), you really do need to get to the terminal more than an hour ahead of time. They’re “peak” for a reason.

3. Stretch your legs: business class is the minimum on the Acela Express, and I won’t even begin to fantasize about what first class is like. Everything is comfortable, from being able to recline (and have the person in front of you do so) to the clean, spacious bathrooms. It can be difficult to get up and walk around when the train is moving at its top speed, but you are free to do so – with no “fasten seatbelt” light to slow you down.

4. Service with a smile: several of the announcements on the ride came with the simple yet highly effective suggestion, “Have a positive day.” It worked. I’ve hear similar announcements on planes before, but not often and not with the same voice (this guy was good). The food options weren’t great, and you do have to pay for them, but again, there was that smile involved.

Note: I have no problem with airlines charging for food and think they should have moved to this model a while ago. A la carte just makes sense to me. The differentiator for the Acela is the service that puts it into your hands.

5. There’s no dehumanizing security process: first, there’s no reason not to feel safe, and there are security measures in place to protect Amtrak’s customers. That said, you don’t have to squander your youth waiting to get wanded by someone from the TSA. You just carry your bags on board and take your seat.

[photo by Mr. T in DC via Flickr]