As mentioned before, my First Commandment of writing and life is: other people's travel problems are not interesting. Exceptions granted only for the Titanic, the Donner Party, Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart, and Shackleton's Endurance voyage to the South Pole.
Therefore I am manfully resisting the temptation to list the latest ten items in my bill of indictment against United Airlines. This is a particularly frustrating source of woe, given that I have zillions of lifetime miles with them and super-elite "status," and therefore can't sanely choose to go with anyone else. I will merely offer a friendly tip to United's CEO, Jeff Smisek, which is that he stop leading off every single flight with an unasked for little vanity video about how great the airline's spirit and efficiency are. This only tempts passengers to contrast his words with the attitude of the real-world United reps they are dealing with. Now it is probably time for my Second Commandment, which is: People mainly hate the airline they spend most time traveling on.
Instead a few reading tips, before dealing tomorrow with some fascinating incoming correspondence on Brazilian music, throwing styles, and other matters.
1) From the BBC, one of my favorite themes: the unwholesome Briticization of our American lexicon. Anyone who says "spot on" or "brilliant" [in the UK sense] is asking for a one-way ticket back to Ye Olde Country. Maybe even on United.