The congestion in the air space is not apparent in our earthly daily lives. Only a satellite image can show our crowded skies, with airplanes blanketing the continental USA from coast to coast. The imagery in my mind is that some of those air travelers are headed to paradise, that is some earthly paradise, some beautiful and exotic island.

Another image appears, that of crowded airports, with passengers enduring delays, cancellations, poor customer service, and sometimes stranded for a day, or more.Why would folks put up with all this aggravation?

In the case of paradise seekers, a crowded airport is a necessary purgatory for them. But if they are willing to pay the price for reaching these expensive paradisaical destinations, it is doubtful they are are escaping any form of a real hell.

Hell is reserved for those who travel by fragile and overcrowded boats, trying to escape a living inferno. Their destination is not a glamorous island, but one located somewhere in Italy or Greece; a place where they are allowed to land. Once there, they will live in meager conditions for a long time. This is their purgatory. To them, paradise is simply a normal life, a place where they are accepted, not because of their money, but because finally they are recognized as fellow human beings.

Personally, as a certified homebody, I prefer a paradise that does not cost any money.