--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My idea of everything going smoothly on…" description: "\"My idea of everything going smoothly on an airplane is (a) that I not die in a slow-motion fiery crash or get stabbed to death by terrorists and (b) th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/anne-lamott-188_airplane_my-idea-of-everything-going-smoothly-on_1451681.png" --- # My idea of everything going smoothly on an airplane is (a)… ![“My idea of everything going smoothly on an airplane is (a) that I not die in a slow-motion fiery crash or get stabbed to death by terrorists and (b) that none of the other passengers try to talk to me. All conversation should end at the moment the wheels leave the ground.” quote by Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/anne-lamott-188_airplane_my-idea-of-everything-going-smoothly-on_1451681.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/anne-lamott-188_airplane_my-idea-of-everything-going-smoothly-on_1451681.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/anne-lamott-188_airplane_my-idea-of-everything-going-smoothly-on_1451681.png) > “My idea of everything going smoothly on an airplane is (a) that I not die in a slow-motion fiery crash or get stabbed to death by terrorists and (b) that none of the other passengers try to talk to me. All conversation should end at the moment the wheels leave the ground.” [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She wishes for a silent, uneventful flight without danger or unwanted social interaction. **In simple terms:** Wants a calm, safe, quiet flight. Key Takeaway Accept that some interaction is inevitable. Themes travel anxiety social Mood nervous detached Type personal reflective When to use this quote - air travel - public transport - meeting new people - handling anxiety Key Concepts flight safety personal boundaries Questions to Reflect On - How do you manage anxiety on a plane? - What can you do to create personal space? A Different Perspective Not all flights are free of turbulence or strangers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Airplane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/airplane/) [Airplane Die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/airplane-die-5222366/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Crash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crash/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Dies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dies/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Fiery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiery/) [Flying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flying/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Passengers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passengers/) [Passengers Try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passengers-try-5222367/) [Plane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plane/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Slow motion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow-motion/) [Smoothly Airplane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoothly-airplane-5222365/) [Sociability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociability/) [Talk to me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-to-me/) [Terrorist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrorist/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Wheels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheels/) ## Related quotes > [“When you are alone in the wilderness, opinions or beliefs of any kind are dropped as the absurd accoutrements they are. But after being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/when-you-are-alone-in-the-wilderness-opinions-or-beliefs-of-any-kind/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [No matter what I do with my life, or how successful I am, I will always be a socially awkward penguin inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wil-wheaton/no-matter-what-i-do-with-my-life-or-how-successful-i-am-i-will-always/) [Wil Wheaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wil-wheaton/) > [A party is a slightly artificial event where one learns the rudiments of human behavior at its most admirable: speaking when spoken to, looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-grissim-theroux/a-party-is-a-slightly-artificial-event-where-one-learns-the-rudiments/) [Phyllis Grissim-Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-grissim-theroux/) > [“Thirteen Recurrent Domains of Human Concerns: Possible Breakdowns 1. BODY: health, sickness, injury, availability and unavailability for meetings and appointments. 2. PLAY or AESTHETICS:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-flores/thirteen-recurrent-domains-of-human-concerns-possible-breakdowns-1/) [Fernando Flores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-flores/) > [I cannot love people in the country, I discover, because there is always this danger that they may be acquaintances, with all the perils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/i-cannot-love-people-in-the-country-i-discover-because-there-is/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Writers are painful friends, and they are seldom friendly with others. They are insecure in the presence of other writers. Composers of certain kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/writers-are-painful-friends-and-they-are-seldom-friendly-with-others/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Cultivate truth, good faith, experience, cleverness, sociability, and industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pittacus-of-mytilene/cultivate-truth-good-faith-experience-cleverness-sociability-and/) [Pittacus of Mytilene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pittacus-of-mytilene/) > [ \[On social climbing:\] Everything that goes up must come down. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-cheshire/on-social-climbing-everything-that-goes-up-must-come-down/) [Maxine Cheshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-cheshire/) > [If you ever meet someone who cannot understand why solitary confinement is considered punishment, you have met a misanthrope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/if-you-ever-meet-someone-who-cannot-understand-why-solitary/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) > [I was very inventive. I lived in my own world - my dad said I was a loner. Not lonely, just happy in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-titchmarsh/i-was-very-inventive-i-lived-in-my-own-world-my-dad-said-i-was-a/) [Alan Titchmarsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-titchmarsh/) > [“compatriots needed to weave into the social fabric bakeries close to home or bread trucks that deliver; like a sort of societal gluten, sources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-laurence-kaplan/compatriots-needed-to-weave-into-the-social-fabric-bakeries-close-to/) [Steven Laurence Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-laurence-kaplan/) > [“We are born to talk to other people, ... we are born to be sociable and to sit together with others in the shade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/we-are-born-to-talk-to-other-people-we-are-born-to-be-sociable-and-to/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [It is, indeed, a fact that, in the midst of society and sociability every evil inclination has to place itself under such great restraint,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-indeed-a-fact-that-in-the-midst-of-society-and-sociability/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The sociability of artists is a paradoxical and precarious thing, and ceases the instant they begin their actual artistic work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-g-collingwood/the-sociability-of-artists-is-a-paradoxical-and-precarious-thing-and/) [Robin G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-g-collingwood/) > [Imagination must first be filled to the point of saturation with life of every kind before the moment arrives when the friction of free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/imagination-must-first-be-filled-to-the-point-of-saturation-with-life/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) ## More by Anne Lamott > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [It's funny where we look for salvation, and where we actually find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/it-s-funny-where-we-look-for-salvation-and-where-we-actually-find-it/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Publication is not all that it is cracked up to be. But writing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/publication-is-not-all-that-it-is-cracked-up-to-be-but-writing-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/your-problem-is-how-you-are-going-to-spend-this-one-odd-and-precious/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [And yet, I do believe there is ultimately meaning in the chaos, and also in the doldrums. What I resist is not the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/and-yet-i-do-believe-there-is-ultimately-meaning-in-the-chaos-and/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Raising a child, whether or not it is yours, is like Nautilus of the heart and soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/raising-a-child-whether-or-not-it-is-yours-is-like-nautilus-of-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I heard a preacher say recently that hope is a revolutionary patience; let me add that so is being a writer. Hope begins in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-heard-a-preacher-say-recently-that-hope-is-a-revolutionary-patience/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-think-perfectionism-is-based-on-the-obsessive-belief-that-if-you/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [All criticism hurts me. I'm so in the wrong business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/all-criticism-hurts-me-i-m-so-in-the-wrong-business/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [We are going to die, as is everyone we adore - I hate this! But the question is, how do we live as women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-are-going-to-die-as-is-everyone-we-adore-i-hate-this-but-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You will go through your life thinking there was a day in second grade that you must have missed, when the grown-ups came in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-will-go-through-your-life-thinking-there-was-a-day-in-second/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You begin to string words together like beads to tell a story. You are desperate to communicate, to edify or entertain, to preserve moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-begin-to-string-words-together-like-beads-to-tell-a-story-you-are/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“You lose the known package of your nice organized self almost instantly here. Overeating is one way back, the way it is at funerals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-lose-the-known-package-of-your-nice-organized-self-almost/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Explore all 976 Anne Lamott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## More Airplane quotes > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [I shoot in black and white, sometimes color, sometimes if it looks good I shoot out the window of the airplanes or whatever, anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barry/i-shoot-in-black-and-white-sometimes-color-sometimes-if-it-looks-good/) [Robert Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barry/) > [I've jumped out of an airplane 34 times. I've dove 212 feet under water. I've done a lot of things that defied death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/i-ve-jumped-out-of-an-airplane-34-times-i-ve-dove-212-feet-under/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [I believe that anyone who flies in an airplane and doesn't spend most of his time looking out the window wastes his money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-reisner/i-believe-that-anyone-who-flies-in-an-airplane-and-doesn-t-spend-most/) [Marc Reisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-reisner/) > [We live in a world where it has become politically correct to avoid absolutes. Many want all religions to be given the same honor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-live-in-a-world-where-it-has-become-politically-correct-to-avoid/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [On the second airplane to france and we're done ! yeyyyyyyyyy !! this one was more full :P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shmmopy/on-the-second-airplane-to-france-and-we-re-done-yeyyyyyyyyy-this-one/) [Shmmopy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shmmopy/) > [The way I see it, you can either work for a living or you can fly airplanes. Me, I'd rather fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-morgan/the-way-i-see-it-you-can-either-work-for-a-living-or-you-can-fly/) [Len Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-morgan/) > [I'm 17 years old. I'm not a straight-A student or anything. Even so, I figured out how to make an Internet that they can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/i-m-17-years-old-i-m-not-a-straight-a-student-or-anything-even-so-i/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [I don't have a fear of flying; I have a fear of crashing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bob-thornton/i-don-t-have-a-fear-of-flying-i-have-a-fear-of-crashing/) [Billy Bob Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bob-thornton/) > [From computers to information technology to airplanes, it has been America's unique blend of republican government and free-market capitalism that has allowed us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-nethercutt/from-computers-to-information-technology-to-airplanes-it-has-been/) [George Nethercutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-nethercutt/) > [I've been racking my brain. I've been trying to figure out how Bob Dole's luggage got on my airplane...I told the doctor, I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-ve-been-racking-my-brain-i-ve-been-trying-to-figure-out-how-bob/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Sometimes life is like being stuck in the middle-seat of an airplane, next to a ridiculously fat person and a crying baby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-life-is-like-being-stuck-in-the-middle-seat-of-an-airplane/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm sure the most favorite airplane in my career would still be the Sabre F86 cleft wing , which allowed me to be credited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/i-m-sure-the-most-favorite-airplane-in-my-career-would-still-be-the/) [Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [John Travolta said he sometimes lets his friends take control of his airplane even though they don't know what they're doing. Then Travolta said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/john-travolta-said-he-sometimes-lets-his-friends-take-control-of-his/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) [Browse all 935 Airplane quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/airplane/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My idea of everything going smoothly on an airplane is (a) that I not die in a slow-motion fiery crash or get stabbed to death by terrorists and (b) that none of the other passengers try to talk to me. All conversation should end at the moment the wheels leave the ground.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Lamott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/my-idea-of-everything-going-smoothly-on-an-airplane-is-a-that-i-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Airplane" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/my-idea-of-everything-going-smoothly-on-an-airplane-is-a-that-i-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/anne-lamott-188_airplane_my-idea-of-everything-going-smoothly-on_1451681.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/anne-lamott-188_airplane_my-idea-of-everything-going-smoothly-on_1451681.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/anne-lamott-188_airplane_my-idea-of-everything-going-smoothly-on_1451681.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My idea of everything going smoothly on an airplane is (a) that I not die in a slow-motion fiery crash or…” — Anne Lamott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anne Lamott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My idea of everything going smoothly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/my-idea-of-everything-going-smoothly-on-an-airplane-is-a-that-i-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/my-idea-of-everything-going-smoothly-on-an-airplane-is-a-that-i-not/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```