Bad weather and a bad plane made a big mish-mosh of my return flight plans. But I was my chipper self to the counter agent and she appreciated it so much that she gave me all sorts of parting gifts, the best of which was a free upgrade. So I actually got to see how the other half lives, cosseted away in their curtained off world of hot towels, free wine, Godiva chocolates, and Mrs. Field’s cookies. I actually had a menu from which to make my meal selection and the food was incredibly palatable. I never thought I’d be eating cheesecake on an airplane. There was actual cloth, not strange papery pseudo-fabric on the pillows. The strangest part, however, were the glasses. I am so used to using plastic cups everywhere that the drink glasses seemed unmanageably heavy and got very cold from the ice! But they were a nice reminder of my luxury status. And coffee tastes a lot better out of a nicely weighted cup. The most desireable part, of course, is the room. Legroom, feetroom, armroom, posterior-room. I arrived feeling relaxed and sociable instead of cranky and nauseous. I wonder now if it isn’t a better deal to redeem airmiles for upgrades instead of waiting for those free cattle-class tickets. It’s so much nicer being treated like a Kobe beef cow.