
"I fly 747s for a living. Here are the amazing things I see every day." - grendelt
http://www.vox.com/2016/5/2/11520288/pilot-airplane-photos
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emdashcomma
_Then, less than an hour after the long-stilled wheels of the 747 were spun
back to life by the sun-beaten surface of an African runway, I 'll be on a bus
heading into Cape Town, sitting in rush hour traffic, on an ordinary morning
in which, glancing down through the windshield of a nearby car, I'll see a
hand lift a cup of coffee or reach forward to tune the radio. And I'll think:
All this would still be going on if I hadn't flown here._

I finally made an account to comment on this. This is one of those
realizations which, to me, still has its full effect every time I think about
it. I think it really hit me the first time when I was on a road trip, passing
city after city, neighborhood after neighborhood, house after house, and then
thinking about the population of the area I just passed compared to that of my
state, my country, and outward. Thinking about the challenges and experiences
I've had among my friends and family, inside each of those houses, etc. It's a
very powerful source of empathy.

~~~
toomuchtodo
I believe this is called "sonder".

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkoML0_FiV4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkoML0_FiV4)

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brianpgordon
He seems to maintain a sense of wonder that I find surprising for a pilot. For
me, I think the daily routine would become droll and familiar after working it
for a year or so. And I can't imagine how hard it would be to sit in a cockpit
doing nothing for 12 hours while the plane flies in a straight line over the
ocean, and then do it again the next day, and the next. It seems so _boring_.

~~~
alblue
If you do what you love for a living, you'll never have to work again. Of
course what one person loves another can find boring :-)

