A Delta Connections flight, operated by Pinnacle Airlines, was canceled out of upstate New York late this week. Big deal, you say, the Northeast was hit by (yet another) big snowstorm at the end of the week; lots of flights were canceled. Well, this is true, but weather wasn’t a factor in this particular instance.

Mechanical problems? Drunk pilot? A bomb threat? An unruly passenger? You’re getting warmer, but, no, none of these was the reason the Rochester-to-Atlanta flight was dropped. Instead, as the plane returned to its gate after a passenger suffered a panic attack, a “spat” apparently broke out between two female flight attendants. The pilot, in ”an abundance of caution,” according to a Pinnacle spokesman, made the decision to cancel the flight. The 75 passengers said they were told they had to get off the plane because the stewardesses were fighting (can you imagine hearing that announcement coming over the speakers?!), and they were found alternate travel arrangements.

We’ve all heard all kinds of stories, some of them quite bizarre, about altercations aboard planes that have led to flights being diverted, emergency landings and the like. This is the first I can recall where a fight between crew members led to this kind of action. The airline spokesman said this was a verbal, not a physical, argument; but apparently it was of such a scale that the pilot felt it was best to ground the flight. I really find that remarkable, as well as dismaying.

Of course, we don’t know (and probably never will) the whole story and its background. Perhaps the captain had flown with these attendants before, perhaps there was a history of unpleasantness between them, and perhaps he had had enough and felt drastic measures were necessary to put an end to it. (The two attendants have been removed from duty pending an internal investigation.) But doesn’t it bother you that two individuals who work in the service sector could not be professional enough to carry out their duties in a civilized manner? Their personal animosity and the captain’s means of handling it inconvenienced a great many people. Ironically, their behavior, in the pilot’s mind at least, was a threat to the safety of that flight — safety which it is their assigned duty to secure.

It leads me to ponder, as I have occasion to do too often these days, the increasing lack of public civility on display everywhere, from the U.S. Capitol to city council meetings, from the grocery store check-out line to . . . the airport. Sometimes it seems that people take their social cues from Jerry Springer instead of Emily Post. I know from reading the many letters to Global Traveler and blog comments here that our readers, many of whom travel the world and interact with a variety of cultures, practice and understand the value of courtesy and respect for others, even when others’ lifestyles or opinions don’t align with their own.

Maybe that’s the solution: Folks who have become too insular and self-centered need to get out and travel more. They need to mingle with their fellow human beings from all walks of life and practice the art of getting along with those different (and yet oh-so-alike, fundamentally) from themselves. That’s assuming, of course, that their flight to a new destination isn’t canceled due to dueling flight attendants.

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

On a recent trip to New York City, my husband and I took the train from New Haven’s Union Station. On our way out of Grand Central Station, we passed a bakery, and the aroma of fresh-baked bread stopped me in my tracks. “On the way back,” my husband promised. “We’ll get bread to bring home.” He was right. We were headed to the Andaz Wall Street for the GT Tested Awards and a two-night stay. What was I going to do with a bag full of bread?

The hotel was fabulous, the event even more so. And, true to his word, on our return trip, my husband steered us straight to Grand Central Market, a long arcade of food stalls on the ground floor of the terminal, with access to the street at one end. Featuring everything from Greenwich Produce to Penzeys Spices, from Murray’s Cheese to Pescatore Seafood, it is a foodie’s paradise. But it was bread I was after, and bread I found at Zaro’s Bread Basket. There was such a large selection, I couldn’t make up my mind; and with our luggage getting in everyone’s way, I had to decide fast. We ended up with a bag full of ciabatta and other crusty creations to take home and a couple of focaccio loaves, loaded with delicious toppings, for the train.

It’s hard to get a good loaf of bread in our part of Connecticut. There are few bakeries to begin with, even fewer that bake their own bread, and fewer still that bake really good, crusty bread.

My passion for bread goes way back. In the 1980s, after a week in Paris with a friend, dining on fresh baguette morning, noon and night, I bemoaned the dismal lack of good bread at home. Enduring one too many complaints about “this doughy American stuff,” my husband had had enough: “Then learn to make your own!” And so I did, and I’ve been baking baguettes ever since.

Some of the finest souvenirs I have brought home from my travels are not the usual tchotchkes. Sure, I’ve carted my share of china cups and coffee mugs, original watercolors by local artists and Gustav Klimt prints from Vienna. I’ve stuffed my suitcase with fine woolens from Ireland and Iceland, and lugged back a huge pottery half-moon from the Caribbean. Each year my Christmas tree is adorned with ornaments from around the world — Delftware from Dutch St. Maarten, bright red wooden lobsters from Maine, Bermudian bobbies, Tyrolean jumping jacks. I even schlepped a cuckoo clock halfway through Europe on a backpacking trip when I was 20. And some items have inspired whole collections, as with our Wayang Golek (Java puppets), which we accumulated over many years of traveling through the Caribbean.

But fabric fades. China chips and cracks. It is the more intangible things that stay with me. Like learning to bake baguette, I seem to collect new abilities wherever I go, new traditions to incorporate into my life that remind me of where I’ve been.

In Germany, one taste of Schwarzwalder-Kirsch-Torte (Black Forest cake) and I had to possess its lush chocolate-and-cream secrets. I found a recipe and practiced making it — even impressing my father-in-law with a torte for his birthday one year.

Other locations have led to other additions to my culinary repertoire: Johnny cakes and plantains as they are served in the lolos of Grand Case, St. Martin; Irish scones, brown bread and potato soup; dim sum inspired by a trip to San Francisco’s Chinatown.

But musical fare can have the same effect as food. On a visit to Doolin, the traditional music capital of Ireland, I was so taken by the local music that I needed to possess it myself and bought two tin whistles — I have learned three songs in three years — and if I had room in my suitcase would have lugged home enough instruments for a whole band: bodhran drums, bones, spoons and maybe even uilleann pipes. On one trip to the Caribbean, I was convinced I could be a steel drum player; luckily, there were no drums for purchase on the island.

I suppose it’s my passion for a place, for its people, that inspires this sort of madness in me, this need to replicate what I have found and instill it into my daily life. Perhaps it is a way of keeping the memories alive. I am loath to leave some places and head home to my ordinary life.

What I have yet to figure out, though, is how to carry home more esoteric things, like an entire way of life. How, for instance, to institute the Spanish siesta into my afternoon? How to take a two-hour lunch and still get work done? How to stay as relaxed as I am on the beach in the Caribbean, as enthused as I am in a Parisian art museum, as connected to people as I am when encountering another culture?

Ah, but that’s exactly what vacations are for.

– Jan Hecht, associate editor

Well, I’ve finally gone and done it. I have entered the social networking scene by creating my own Facebook page. Truth be told, I didn’t actually create it on my own. No, daughter Jenny, who for years swore she would likely die if I ever did so, was the one who actually encouraged me to take the plunge and guided me through the process. She managed to convince me by pointing out that several of my siblings and in-laws, nieces and nephews and high school and college pals had their own online profiles, and I could more easily keep in touch with them and they with me if I joined in. Another benefit is that while she’s in Europe, I’ll be able to check her page for updates on her travels and view photos she posts (I do expect some personal emails as well, though!).

Just a few days before she left, we sat down at my computer and she explained to me about creating a profile, “friending” people, replying to comments on my wall and all the rest. The next thing I knew, my email inbox was flooded with notices telling me who’s friended me, posted a comment, or responded to a thread and . . . WHAT??!! Already, only a few days into this new venture, and I am swamped with all kinds of input (and I haven’t even got all the Christmas stuff put away — I have no time for this!!). Jenny tried to give me a few more pointers and threw in a little Facebook etiquette: “If someone asks to friend you, you should accept. I don’t think you should “poke” anybody, though.” (What does that mean? Is it obscene or rude or does she just think it isn’t “age appropriate”?) Then, off she goes back to Chicago en route to Europe for two months, leaving me to fear I’m going to deeply offend someone by either inadvertantly ignoring a friend request or committing some horrible Internet faux pas.

Do you sense panic setting in? You are very astute! Actually, I believe this is just a temporary reaction to my introduction to a particular corner of the Web I’ve happily managed to ignore up to now. I always resent the time it takes me to wrap my head around new technology (and my ignorance until I feel I’ve conquered it). I have already seen the benefits and enjoyed this additional link to friends and family, but I can also see where it could become a time-consuming monster if I let it.

Updating my own wall and viewing and commenting on others’ could gobble enormous amounts of time alone, but I’ve also gotten a glimpse at some of the “apps” or role-playing types of programs associated with Facebook that one can lose oneself in. Both of my girls have “farms” where they raise and harvest crops, and I’ve seen where others apparently run “restaurants.” Sorry, I’ve got a real garden, and that takes enough time as it is; and figuring out what’s for dinner tonight is as close to running an eatery as I want to get. Who has the time to do all this? College students with boring classes? Homebound invalids? Maybe, but apparently working people and busy young mothers, too. I seriously cannot fathom the appeal there at all. Perhaps it’s just a bit of escapism, but I’d rather read a book or see a movie for that!

I’m looking forward to reading an article in an upcoming issue of Global Traveler which will examine the social networking phenomenon. With my tech expert gallavanting around Europe, I’ll be in need of a little additional guidance to get me through this traumatic experience.

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

When I was younger (well, even as recently as maybe five years ago), I would approach New Year’s Day with some ideas in mind for ways I would improve myself or my life in the coming year. I’d be more patient with my loved ones, write more letters, phone my folks regularly, eat less junk food, spend less time in front of the T.V. or computer screen, walk more, be less judgmental, not procrastinate as much — you get the drift. I think just about everyone resolves to start their Januarys with goals to be better people; and most, like me, have found that our good intentions are often overwhelmed with the day-to-day chores and habits which leave us, a few months into the new year, wondering what happened to all that positive resolve.

Don’t get me wrong; I think a lot of good comes from those end-of-year plans. It’s beneficial for us to pause and review where we’ve been, how we’ve been, and how we’d like to proceed. Those successful in their careers know that frequent reviews of work goals and strategies allow one to adapt to both wins and losses so as to improve and move ahead. We need to do that in our personal lives, too. A pause to contemplate private goals, weaknesses and strengths challenges us to look honestly at the way we conduct ourselves and consider the means to change what we don’t like.

I still do that — in fact, I find I don’t limit such mullings to late December. Confronting a new challenge, old frustration or personal failing (chocolate is a constant temptation!) will lead me to take a little personal inventory, no matter the time of year. I think it’s similar to what we Catholics refer to as an “examination of conscience” as we prepare to enter the confessional. What has changed for me is that I find I’m less likely now to set up a series of specific “I will do this” or “I won’t do that” statements. Past experience has taught me that too often I can’t/don’t (won’t?) maintain the drive to fulfill all those self-imposed improvements, and then I really beat myself up.  

These days I find it much more effective if I simply review the past year, personally and professionally, and ask myself what worked and what didn’t. If there’s any resolution-making for the next twelve months involved, it’s usually along the lines of “I need to remember the lesson I learned from that experience and try to apply it in whatever comes my way next year.” Am I letting myself off the hook too easily? No, I think I’ve just learned what does (and doesn’t) work for me when it comes to this traditional exercise.

My hope for you is that you are able to look back at this past most-challenging year and find little gifts of wisdom gleaned from your experiences and look forward to the opportunity to apply them to your benefit and that of others in 2010.

Happy New Year!

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

Another year has come and gone. Goodbye ‘09, hello ‘10! We are well on our way into this new millennium, and I think we welcomed it with gusto. Instead of just the normal year-end countdowns pervading TV, the radio and books and newspapers, we can also enjoy countdowns of the best of the best from the last 10 years. I particularly enjoy the trend countdowns — looking back and sometimes laughing at styles that were in vogue just five years ago or games, movies and music that were all the rage.

And, of course, with the new year come the resolutions. Whether or not you choose to set a definite resolution, I think most people look to the new year with the hope of making a fresh start in some area of everyday life. In December, it’s always easiest to say,”I’ll wait ’til January.” January is here now, so it’s time to get on it!

I must admit, I love the anticipation of New Year’s Eve. There is a positive buzz the entire day, and those last 10 seconds before midnight are so full of hope and meaning. I feel like it is hard not to get caught up in the excitement. My friends often tease me because I MUST see the ball drop. If I miss it, I just feel like the whole year is off to the wrong start.

And I love the song “Auld Lang Syne.” So the ball drops, the song comes on, you are celebrating with friends and family, people around the world are excited and happy — what could be better?

Before we know it, it will be 1-1-11!

A very happy New Year to you and yours!

– Kim Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive