Since most of us are sheltering-in-place and staying home these days, I thought a travel story might be appropriate.

Last fall I traveled with three of my kids to visit my folks in Texas. It was the first time Johnny could remember traveling on an airplane. Johnny is my very active, highly verbal 5 year old. And he made the trip memorable.

As it was late at night, and we were on the last flight out, the plane was mostly full of weary business travelers. I headed towards the back, hopeful the engines would drown out any residual preschooler noise. I buckled Johnny into his seat and the questions began.

“Is there a bomb on this plane?”

Silence and a few stares from everyone sitting within 4 rows of us. I quickly hushed the kid and hoped he was done. He wasn’t.

“Is this plane going to blow up?”

At this point, I was getting nervous about possibly being asked to deplane. I tried to divert his attention to the workers loading bags on the tarmac. It worked until the safety demonstration.

He was fascinated by the oxygen masks and the possibility of a water landing. The flight attendant stopped by and reminded me to secure my oxygen mask before helping Johnny. As she walked away, he shouted after her

“Hey, why does she get to put her mask on first?”

Finally, the lights dimmed and we began to taxi towards the runway. One last question.

“So, is this plane going to drop bombs on anyone?“

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have been cleared for takeoff.”