The drudgery of flying

For someone who used to fly an awful lot, I'm now stunned how hard I find it to travel these days. It seems that the process is no longer half the fun it used to be and between long waits, obnoxious security checks, cramped seats and unhappy flight attendants, flying has stepped down below the train and the bus as a civilized mean of transportation. Sure, there's always the options of flying business or first class, but those are incredibly expensive compared to the basic fare and not really practical if some corporate entity won't pick up the tab or if there is no more fee miles left to pay for the upgrade. These observations are clearly leaving me with a much narrower horizon when it comes to my future travel plans, and frankly, I'll be able to live very well without jet-setting the world over. I live in a wonderful place and get all the things I love within minutes from my home. The airlines of the world, will now have to creatively work on some much better way to get me out of my palace more than once or twice a year!