Remember when flying was a special experience? Heck, remember when seeing someone off at the airport was a big deal, too? You'd wear your Sunday best (even if only to wish grandma well as she jetted to Miami for a couple of weeks). If you were the passenger, you'd look forward to special treatment on the plane: drinks, snacks, a meal!

Those days are long gone. But they're nicely remembered in this New York Times piece by a former "stewardess."

Then you're brought back to earth in the same edition with this story about passengers and baggage in today's inconvenient airline world.