After the terror attacks against the United States, the experience of traveling changed around the world. More people were anxious about riding on air planes, but life wasn't going to stop because of the actions of evil men. Though the effectiveness of the TSA and other airport security is debatable, many countries around the world opted to have stricter guidelines at airports to at least make passengers feel safer.
Redditor u/omfghewontfkndie asked people who remembered traveling before 9/11 what it was like, and people discussed how it was overall more enjoyable to go on planes.
20. It was easy to ambush celebrities
"you could go through security without a ticket. my mom supported my teenybopping days, so 13 y/o me met a backstreet boy when he got to his gate. thanks AOL chat rooms for being the first reddit"
19. Flying was a big even
"My 90 year old dad is still shocked men don't get dressed up in suit and ties, and women in a church dress while flying.
I guess prior to the 80's it was so comparatively expensive that for personal trips it was like going to a formal.
I remember the cheapest price for flight from Houston to Philadelphia my dad could find in the mid 70's on a weeks notice was $650. I remember because that was huge amount of money and he decided to take a weeks vacation to drive there and back.
45 years later you can easily find such flights for less than $400."
18. Painless bag checks
Giphy"Put your carry-on on the conveyor. Walk through the metal detector. Take your bag. Off you go."
t0f0b0
17. Kids often flew alone
"Easy preezy. I travelled back and forth by myself to Washington from Phoenix every year since I was 7. I went through security with a pocket knife and had a really fun time on planes."
16. Gate agents really didn't care
"I once got into Canada using an expired 6 Flags Over Texas season pass as my I.D. in lieu of an actual passport."
15. It was good to be a child on a plane
"McDonald's Happy meals in flight, getting wings from the captain and seeing the cockpit."
14. Planes were BYOB
"I sat with four other passengers in first class and shared half a bottle of Captain Morgan from my backpack.
The flight crew brought us all the mixers we wanted."
13. A picture on a credit card? Wow.
"Travelled on a plane from Canada to USA with the picture on my American Express Credit Card because I don't drive."
12. No stressing over ounces
"Oh god, guess I'm an Adult© now.
It was way more relaxed. You didn't take your shoes off, didn't have to take electronics out, and there was no limits on liquids. Overall much better experience."
11. Only surrender real weapons, please
The ticket counter asked if we had any weapons. My dad and I pulled out our Swiss army knives. The lady just repeated, 'Any Weapons?' In an irritated tone."
10. "Security was a joke..."
"Easy. Security was a joke. You could bring small knives on the plane, and everyone could go to the gate.
I once had to turn my cell phone on to prove it was a real phone and I got really annoyed at that level of scrutiny."
9. No hassles...
"Back in the late 90s when I was traveling often for work, I'd wear steel-toe boots and bring a laptop bag stuffed with tools and never got hassled."
8. No ID checks
"I had a 30 minute drive to the airport but could leave the house 1 hour before departure. The bag checked 20 minutes before would still make the plane.
Half empty planes were pretty normal. I once had all 5 seats in a row on a 747 flight, so I laid down and slept. That started changing in the 1990s, more about $ than security.
You could buy a stranger's return ticket because no one checked IDs."
7. Planes actually had a smoking section
Giphy"Let me do you one better: in the late 80s you could smoke on them mother******s"
6. "It was so lonely at the gate..."
"The biggest difference I remember is that my grandparents used to greet us at the gate as we got off the plane, and come to the gate with us while we waited for our flight back home. Obviously you couldn't get on the plane without a boarding pass, but you could get through security without a boarding pass.
It was so lonely at the gate after 9/11."
5. I have vague memories of this happening to me
Giphy"I remember being taken up to see the pilot in the late 90s when i was a kid - later on I assumed i must have imagined it, but my parents assured me that they would genuinely take people onto the flight deck for a look around."
4. Forty-five minutes
"Remember when the McAllister family from 'Home Alone' made it from the suburbs to O'Hare for an international flight in 45 minutes? That Easy."
3. Less racism and prejudice
"There were still people who had flying anxiety but seems like a ton more now. Also you didn't have to show up hours ahead of time and worry that you're still too late. People who looked the slightest bit middle eastern weren't stared at"
2. Everything is checked
"I only traveled by plane a handful of times before 9/11 and I was young (6-8 years old) but the difference was huge from what I can remember, it was just so much more hassle free, and people could wait for you when you got off the plane right where you were getting off! Now you gotta take off your shoes and get EVERYTHING checked, they go through your stuff, it takes so much longer now."
1. It was better overall
"Aside from the security and the process of getting to the plane, the overall flight experience was way better. There was def more leg room which was awesome. Longer domestic flights 2+ hours even had economy meal service if you were flying during a mealtime. Drinks were provided as a full can without having to ask. Flights were actually a bit faster because gas prices weren't an issue. This all started to disappear throughout the 90s and early 00s. Meal service was first to go."
Troop 80062 set up their table full of Girl Scout cookies in the Woodbridge Center Mall, selling all the traditional favorites to save up for a group trip to Savannah, Ga to visit the home of Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low.
In a heart-breaking turn of events though, an unidentified thief made off with the envelope containing the nearly $1200 in cash and checks the girls had made selling cookies.
But a group of generous New Yorkers stepped in to save the day, banding together to raise money to send the girls to Georgia.
Donors save Girl Scout trip after jerk stole $1K in cookie money https://t.co/ZFJ7Z7XMp6 https://t.co/JvLY5EMB0E— New York Post (@New York Post) 1548204040
"We were shocked and devastated," troop leader Jessica Medina, 38 told the New York Post after the January 18 robbery.
"The girls had worked so hard. Everybody was crying."
The thief who approached the table with an elderly woman using a walker first asked the girls for a box of Caramel de Lites and some Peanut Butter Patties before he grabbed the envelope full of cash and checks Medina had put down on the table to help 11-year-old Olivia Limmer with the sale.
"I was behind the table and he reached over it to grab the envelope," Medina told the Post.
"He slipped it in his jacket. He did it very fast — in the blink of an eye"
By the time Medina realized the envelope was gone it was too late. The girls were devastated by the theft.
"I'm pretty angry. It's heartbreaking," said Olivia Limmer.
"You shouldn't steal from anybody, but stealing from Girl Scouts is even worse."
When Medina later posted about the incident on Facebook people were just as upset by the theft as the girls.
Linda Bounanno Berrier/Facebook
Linda M Lacki Lewka/Facebook
Bernice Gilliland/Facebook
Denise Bongiovanni Lagomarsino/Facebook
Judy Keegan/Facebook
After the troop's heartbreaking story went viral, a group of kindhearted New Yorkers decided they weren't just going to sit back and watch.
"I don't want to see any child who works hard not get to fulfill her dreams," said Vince La Padula, one of the many donors who pledged more than $3500 already to fund the troop's trip to Savannah.
Padula, 47, who works in finance, has pledged $2200 for the trip.
"For these kids, their whole year depends on how much money they raise," Padula told the Post.
"I was an Eagle Scout myself. A lot of people grew up as Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts, so I think they can relate."
Padula wasn't the only one moved by the girls story though.
After the story made headlines people began calling into the Post, offering to write checks.
"Me and my partner saw the article and wanted to help out." said one of the generous donors.
"My daughter was a Girl Scout, so this really got to me."
Another donor, Rabbi Anchelle Perl of Mineola, shared his disbelief with the Post when he called in to pledge $250.
"Children should trust in their elders. What kind of message does it send that an adult would come steal from them?"
And the offers of donations didn't stop there. On Facebook, pledges and offers to buy cookies came pouring in.
Yolanda Winfield/Facebook
Jacqueline D Martinez/Facebook
Frank Lehman/Facebook
Krystal Lynn/Facebook
Mick Kless/Facebook
It is hard to imagine the type of person who would steal from a group of Girl Scouts, but thanks to the support of all the generous donors the girls' story had a much sweeter ending.
