Oh wow. So great that there are finally some noobs hitting the line! So much fresh exuberance! There's a lot of good advice here on the mindset it takes to make this job tolerable. I know there are a lot of you who are just happy to be burning jet A and have your whole career all figured out, but listen to some of the sage advice coming from those of us who have been in the suck for a while.

Listen pal, this is not the last time you are gonna get asked some really dumb questions. Everyone from regular people (the "normies") at the airport or hotel, pax sitting next to you on a deadhead, your wife's friends and coworkers, etc. is pretty much going to ask you the same questions every time they find out you're a pilot. "What's your route?", "Do you ever get scared?", "Must be great to make so much money to always be on vacation", "My cousin is a pilot, do you know John Smith?", "I have to tell you about my LAST flight!", blah blah blah. You'll find that most people think that sitting in the back and sipping on a Diet Coke between BFE and O'Hare a few times a year qualifies them as some sort of airline expert. There could be an entire thread titled "Dumb Things Pax/Non-Aviation People Say" and it would probably be as epic as the "Tool of the Day" and "Funniest Things Heard On the Radio" threads.

So to answer you question: No. You are not the only person who has had some know-it-all passenger ask you a dumb question or engage you in a stupid conversation. It will happen. A lot. Usually when you don't want it too. I'm with some of the others here; be honest and use it as an opportunity to educate at least one person on the true situation we face while safely hauling their butts from A to B.