I have been a frequent air traveler since I was a few months shy

Host: The gentle hum of the airport seemed to fill the air, a mix of voices, rolling suitcases, and the distant announcements of flight departures. Jack and Jeeny sat at a small café, the glow of the overhead lights casting soft shadows across the busy terminal. Outside, the world was in motion—planes taking off, passengers hurrying to gates—but here, in this small corner, the world felt suspended in a moment of quiet. Jack was staring out the window, lost in thought, while Jeeny absentmindedly stirred her coffee.

Jack: “You know, air travel is a strange thing. I’ve been flying for years, but it’s never felt like something I just accept the way some people do. Maybe it’s because I never had a moment where I was tossed around as a kid—like Shashi Tharoor talks about, being sent off to boarding school by plane at such a young age. That kind of blase attitude about flying… I don’t think I could ever get there.”

Jeeny: “I get that. I mean, can you imagine being that young and just handed off to a stranger to be flown across the country, alone? Air travel is something we take for granted now, but when you grow up with it like Tharoor did, it becomes just another part of life. The routine of it becomes part of you.”

Jack: “Right. For Shashi Tharoor, it’s like the idea of being an unaccompanied minor—being passed around from one air hostess to the next—made him numb to the whole experience. But for someone like me, I remember every single moment of my first flight, the anxiety, the excitement. I still get that little jolt every time I board a plane. It never becomes this casual thing like it was for him.”

Jeeny: “But that’s the difference, isn’t it? He had to face it from such a young age that it was normal for him. It wasn’t a novelty. To him, flying became just a mode of transportation, and air travel lost its mystique. Most of us aren’t used to that. It’s like that line between familiarity and routine. He became so familiar with it that it didn’t feel special anymore, just like getting on a bus or a train would be for someone who travels every day.”

Jack: “I can see that. The rituals of flying—boarding, takeoff, landing, even the turbulence—become so routine that after a while, you’re barely aware of them. But I don’t think I could ever lose that sense of wonder. There’s something about being in the air, so far from everything, that feels like it’s more than just getting from point A to point B. Tharoor had to deal with it so young, though, that it became something he could take for granted.”

Jeeny: “But maybe that’s the point—routine can be a form of comfort, right? When you’re young and being sent off alone, you might feel anxiety, but at some point, you stop being scared and start to see it as just another part of the journey. What might have been scary as a child becomes just another thing you accept in your adult life. Maybe it’s a way of coping with being away from home for so long. It’s like his familiarity with it gave him a sense of control.”

Jack: “But that’s what I’m not sure about. Is there a loss in that? In getting so comfortable with something as intense as flying, you lose that sense of awe, that feeling of freedom. Sure, it’s easy to call it normal, but maybe that’s part of the beauty—the idea that you’re floating above the world, traveling through the sky. It’s still such an amazing feat of technology.”

Jeeny: “It’s a double-edged sword, isn’t it? Familiarity can lead to comfort, but it can also lead to complacency. I think what’s important is to recognize that you can still keep that sense of wonder while also accepting the routine. I mean, flying is still a miracle, right? The fact that we can be in one place one moment and somewhere else entirely the next. But it’s easy to forget that when it becomes just another part of your life.”

Host: The sounds of the terminal swirl around them, but the world between Jack and Jeeny feels quieter now. The grinding hum of the airport fades slightly as their words settle in, like the soft aftertaste of a long conversation. Outside, the planes continue to take off, but for a moment, everything stands still.

Jack: “I guess flying for someone like Tharoor, who’s been doing it since childhood, is just a part of life. I don’t know if I could ever get there, but it makes me think about how we normalize so much of the incredible things we take part in. At some point, we all stop being impressed and start just going through the motions.”

Jeeny: “Yeah. Maybe it’s about finding a way to keep that sense of wonder even when things become routine. I think that’s the real challenge. Air travel, or anything else, should never just be something we accept without appreciating it.”

Host: As the announcement for another flight echoes in the distance, Jack and Jeeny sit in quiet reflection. The rhythm of the airport continues, but for a brief moment, it’s as if they are seeing the world in a new way, appreciating the miracle of the journey—no matter how many times it’s been repeated. And maybe that’s what matters most—the ability to still be amazed by the things that are easy to take for granted.