Forget the horses -- I want a plane!

I hate everything about flying. Anyone who knows me will quickly agree that no amount of security, frequent maintenance checks on the best planes in the world, or even medications like Dramamine or Xanax will ever change how I feel about flying. Couple my fear of planes with the stress of airports, such as waiting in long lines or getting delayed, and air travel is often pure misery for me.

The funny thing about my huge fear of flying is that I travel all the time! I used to work as an advertising sales representative, which required me to make a few trips a month to various places throughout the country. While I no longer have that job, my family lives 1,300 miles away and my husband works out of town more than 50 percent of the time, so I still have to fly much more frequently than the average person.

I do occasional freelance work for the same company for which I formerly worked as a sales representative. I love doing these freelance assignments because they usually involve horses, and I absolutely love horses and miss having my own very much. The assignments also, however, involve flying, hence they cause me a lot of stress.

I recently worked an out-of-town freelance assignment in Oklahoma City. On Oct. 5, I rolled out of bed around 3:30 a.m. to catch an early morning flight. I had more baggage than I could easily deal with, so just getting to the ticket counter was exhausting. Nonetheless, I managed to get checked in, waited for a while in the security line, and got on a 757 American Airlines jet to Dallas. I eventually made it to my destination late that afternoon, after back-tracking to Oklahoma from Dallas.

On both of my flights I experienced all of the usual feelings I experience when flying; racing heart beat, shaking body, sweaty hands, nausea. And of course, I didn't take my eyes off the window the entire flight (as if me looking out the window would help in the event of an emergency). It was a smooth flight, I made it to my hotel and everything was fine. But I was completely exhausted, simply from the stress and anxiety I endure when traveling on those enormous jets. It's not fun to begin a 10-day long work assignment that tired.

The next day I was fine and the trip turned out to be a great trip. The horses performed beautifully and I was in great company. We worked hard, ate well, and enjoyed watching some of the best horses in the country compete in their breed's world championship horse show.

A few days before I was scheduled to fly back to Tennessee -- about the time I would usually begin to worry about my flights home -- I was asked by my friend (who was working with in Oklahoma) if my car was parked at the Nashville airport. I had gotten a ride to the airport so the answer to my friend's question was no. She then asked if I wanted to fly with her on a private jet, which would be a direct one hour, 13 minute flight into the Bedford County Airport.

Of course I said yes, primarily in the interest of saving time and getting home several hours earlier than I would have if I'd flown on my commercial flight. The plane was a small jet with seven passenger seats, and we had two experienced pilots in the cockpit. Take off was a bit nerve-wracking for me, but overall, the experience was 10 times more pleasant than flying commercial.

During this flying experience I had no lines to deal with, I wasn't cramped in a small seat, and I didn't have to "check out" other passengers to see if they appeared to be suspicious or not. I met the pilots and trusted they'd take good care of us. The weather was beautiful, the flight was smooth, and I was more relaxed than I have ever been on a plane. I even managed to read a book for a little while during our short flight from Oklahoma City to Shelbyville.

The best part about this experience was that my total travel time was less than two hours, from the time I left my hotel in Oklahoma to the time I left the Shelbyville airport to make the short drive to my home in Shelbyville.

I've always told myself that if I ever become rich in the profitable field of journalism I'll buy some horses. Maybe I'll skip the horses, and buy a plane!