American Eagle

 During the latter days of Belk in the mid-1990's, they had a travel agency in the Columbia Mall store.  I used that agency to book a flight from Columbia to Nashville to visit Del and Chris who had moved there.  The only direct flight was on American, so I took it.
 When I got to the airport, I found that the plane was a small prop plane that was actually American Eagle.  The plane sat around 28 people.  It had two pilots and one flight attendant.  The cockpit was separated from the cabin by a curtain, and you could see the pilots easily.  Because the plane was so small, it could not be attached to the walkway from the terminal to the plane, so we had to walk out onto the tarmac to board the plane and load our luggage.  This whole experience made me nervous.  Primarily because a plane like this one had crashed in Alabama a week before and had killed everyone on board.  Our plane was about half filled with passengers.
 Apparently, my nervousness was seen by most everyone in the plane, because the flight attendant asked if I wanted to sit by her at the front of the seating area.  I agreed, and she held my hand as we took off.  She gave me a Sprite, and I had a window seat to look out at the scenery.  I started getting nervous again, when we started flying over the mountains.  The plane seemed to be just above the trees.  I could look down and see a person mowing his grass.
 After drinking the Sprite, I had to go to the restroom.  It was at the front of the plane and very small.  The ceiling was lower than I was tall.  It also was made of metal.  While I was in there, the plane hit an air pocket, and my head hit the ceiling.  I saw stars.  When I came out, I had a big bump on my head.
 We got to Nashville, and we were all thankful we landed safely.  I stayed in Nashville with my friends for a few days and got to see the city.  We went to a couple of record stores, and I found some cool test pressings.  Then, it was time to board the American Eagle back to Columbia.  I knew better what to expect with the flight.  All of the seats were filled this time around.  A guy had brought his guitar on board.  Liquor was served.  Although I didn't drink, enough people did.  We had a party on the plane with singing and guitar playing.  I forgot all about being scared.