Sitting in the Portland airport about to board a hard working next gen -900 in the pouring rain, thinking of how many flights this old girl has put in and how many more she has left to give. The ants swarm all over her in the wet, filling her tanks, unloading her hold and cabin, the captain and first officers high fiving each other on the turnaround, and the 150 some odd golden ticket winners get to board and fly something golden, something.. ordinary. They say a 737 takes to the skies somewhere in the world every ten minutes. Think about what it takes to make a transonic 150 passenger jet aircraft that dependable. It’s the same type of vibe I get from a Honda dirt bike.