pushing my luck?

last night, flying on a delta plane from las vegas to new york ...

is flying actually correct?

i sat while the plane flew.

last night sitting on a delta plane from las vegas to new york

the middle seat empty allowing my body to pivot five or so extra degrees so that i could comfortably look out the window to witness the topography of the united states.

as day and desert faded into night and city i turned on my itunes, creating a soundtrack to my travels.

for the most part my thoughts and sights were accompanied by josh ritter. i felt it appropriate as he is a song writer who uses the landscape of our country to build his songs and his characters. place as equally important as people.

and then, for some reason, my finger dialed my ipod until the letter x.

there on my display screen was the band xtc.

now, i had just spent the past five days in vegas - mostly at a new technology fair, but it seems even that becomes a gamble for our future - so the luck of the draw, the roll of the dice, the chance for the future was paramount.

an hour or less from the airport, the plane descending and turning to reach its destination, the lights of the populace below me - i debated. and then i went for it.

dear god

now - planes and air travel have been around for quite some time - but being up in the "heavens" i couldn't help wonder if it wasn't pushing my luck:

And all the people that you made in your image,
See them fighting in the street,
cause they cant make opinions meet,
About god,
I cant believe in you.

but i took my own dare or bet or whatever gamblers do and i listened to the song while riding closer to home. i can't explain the sensation, but feeling both the lyrics and the music behind them, thinking about the state of the world from above - i suppose that i could say - if there is a god speaking to he/she/it from the heavens felt much bolder than speaking to he/she/it from the ground.