Southwest...

isn't what it used to be, I gather.

No, my experience on Southwest a couple of weeks ago was unlike any other flight I've been on, mostly because the flight attendant thought he was funny and the rest of us thought he was silly, especially when he dumped the peanut packages on the floor as we took off, sending the blue foil-wrapped snacks sailing down the aisle for passengers to grab. I'd never even heard of such a thing! He also attempted to make jokes, such as suggesting that if we wanted to pay $2000 to fly we would have flown American, not flown Southwest and disabled the smoke alarm. Also, if we really wanted to smoke, the wings were available as "designated smoking areas" and could be used as soon as we reached our cruising altitude. I sat next to a woman who is a HUGE Barney Fife fan. She knows all kinds of quotes and has an 8 year-old son who did fantastic impressions
The flight back from San Jose last week was less funny, and it took me nearly as long to fly to Utah as it did my parents to drive, but I wasn't in a car with sometimes working a/c and a tempermental transmission (the fourth in ten years, probably to be replaced soon) and seven family members (five siblings, two parents, and myself) listening to missionary-appropriate music. I was in planes and airports with fantastic a/c, one brother, and plenty of space to move around in. YAY! for air travel!!