This Is Your Captain Speaking

Frank was tired and stressed. Two more flights, he thought to himself. Two more flights until his vacation.

When he was younger, he thought that being an airplane pilot would get easier over time. Not that it would go on "autopilot" (pardon the pun), but that it would get easier to handle. And it was in some ways, thanks to the benefit of more experience and an increasing number of friendly faces at each airport. But with airlines slashing budgets, schedules becoming more demanding, air traffic controllers getting more stressed, threats and fears related to terrorism - that was all a lot to weigh on a person's mind. And that was on top of the stress of navigating a large metal machine carrying about a hundred people through the sky and landing it safely without killing anyone.

At least I have my health, he thought to himself. At 50 years old, he looked really good for his age, somehow avoiding the gut and man boobs that attached themselves to some of his colleagues. That was probably thanks to habits and discipline he picked up in his military days. He was still able to turn heads, though women were starting to call him "cute" more, instead of "sexy."