I see kids smile at me and other pilots all the time, they look in the cockpit with a huge grin of amazement. As for the pension thing, that happened to more than just pilots. Look at the auto industry, you think they planned that. Pensions were promised knowing they would be underfunded, your beef is not with the industry or the job, it is with the constant battle with upper management and the lack of respect from them. Please don't think that I don't sympathize with anyone who lost their pension. I do, I can't even imagine the sickening feeling that anyone must have felt when they realized it was gone. The bottom line is that this industry is changing, but so are a lot of other industries. Pensions are a thing of the past, and it easier to accept if you started flying for a living in the last five years. Bottom line is that it is unfortunate that your husband and many others lost their pensions, but please do not call others idiots because they chose to do something for a living that they enjoy. Not all of us want to be a doctor, lawyer, police officer, or own our own business. P.S. not all of this post was pointed directly at you HotMamaPilot.