re: #240 buzzsawmonkey

LaGuardia used to be kind of homey; like Midway before it was remodeled, it had a sort of cozy dilapidation which made up—almost—for its actual discomfort.

Now LaGuardia is in the process of being incompetently remodeled without being expanded, and it’s just hell. But the Marine Air Terminal is still really beautiful.

Midway used to be pretty cool back in the days when most jets couldn’t land there. An early-’50s ghost-town timewarp, surrounded by dying motels with atomic neon signs and grass growing through their parking lots. There are still a few echoes of that era down around its southwest corner, but otherwise its Lost World charm is long gone.

Worst flight I ever had was coming into Midway. Bad weather. Bottom line is the pilot couldn’t see the runway in time to land on the postage stamp that it is. Did 3 go arounds that were just short of touch and go’s and announced that we’d divert to O’Hare if he didn’t make it on the next attempt. He did but it was like a carrier landing.