Nashville International Airport's sign at night
I’ve always hated heights, and I’ve spent most of my life so far boarding a plane only when it is absolutely necessary — and even then, I tend to stay in low-key terror. When I fell in love with my wife, who is passionate about traveling, I resolved to cope with my fear of flying so I could really engage in this part of our relationship and one day maybe actually enjoy it. Talking with my therapist, taking anti-anxiety medication and also just kinda flying more have all really helped. (Pro tip: Reading extensively about air disasters satisfied my curiosity but did not help here.) I’m proud to say that after seven years, I am finally looking forward to trips without having to tamp down existential dread when I see a flight on our shared calendar.
I have always taken solace in knowing that I’m more likely to have a serious accident on the way to the airport than I am to be involved in an air crash. This is a statistical fact because of a lot of people’s hard work, and air traffic controllers deserve a ton of the credit.
Ronald Reagan made hay and politicized the profession with the breaking of the 1981 PATCO strike. By the end of the most recent government shutdown, the air traffic controllers who could stay on the job were doing so with no pay, and the Federal Aviation Administration had to reduce the number of flights at many airports, including Nashville International. This brought into sharp relief the overall shortage of these vital workers whose training absolutely has to be extensive, in some cases taking years.
With effort to take care of myself and a little luck, I have half my life left to explore far-off places with my family thanks to the miracle of flight. I’m deeply grateful to the crews in the towers who make it so I can think about things like picking out toys that don’t make too much noise for my kid to play with and remembering sunscreen.
—Stephen Trageser
Music Editor, Nashville Scene
Our notes of gratitude to the community advocates, health care workers and others who make Nashville special
