Virginia

is so true. I was an airline ticket agent for ten years, 1969-1979, back when flights weren't always full, there was much better space between the rows, real food was served even in coach. Even then, the abuse we sometimes took was amazing. I've been known to say that NOTHING I have ever done since then, including childbirth, was half as hard.

Heck, I belonged to a support group of brand-new first time parents when I had my first son, and one day one of the moms sighed and said, "This is the hardest job I've ever had." I stared at her and said, "I can't imagine having a job this easy." We'd clearly experienced very different worlds of work.