I agree that the cockpit / Flight Deck is no place for Disneyland jolly's, it was my 'office'. How many of those who are bemoaning the loss of their pleasures will tomorrow force their way past the bank teller, with a cheery wave of their hand, saying that they are just going to watch the Manager working in his office ? They'd be thrown out on their ear if they tried it, at the very least.
Nevertheless I did allow visits on occasions, but would often ask the cabin crew for details, approx age, sex, sobriety and to go back and ask why the visit was being requested ? That kept most of them away.
I was once asked to sign a birthday card cobbled up by the cabin crew for a lady passenger. I refused until I had seen her and asked that she be invited to the Flight deck. We will have been married 22 years in April !
.........We saw thousands of people murdered
Yes, 9/11 was a terrible event, ( some might say so was 11 Sept. 1934 - my birthday !! ) but I knew of many more thousands being murdered in London, Bristol, Liverpool, Coventry etc.during 1940 and 1941, but many fellow countrymen of Bravesbaseball ( # 26 ) didn't give a stuff, or even know - until their precious Pearl Harbour was attacked - and Thank God it was, or I could now be speaking German if even still alive, but the geneflucting and hand-wringing and security crap demanded by the present descendants of those same citizens in response to that tragedy, is out of all proportion, and so experienced and professional airline crew are now forbiddden to let even their own family sit in their 'office' should they choose, or take a pair of nail-clippers in their jacket pocket.
Truly the Lunatics are Running the Asylum.
My congratulations to all my ex-colleagues, and their successors, who have restrained themselves whilst still putting up with the airport security nonsense - I'd be in jail for assault by now, and may well still be, as the lady whose birthday card I signed is American - and I still have to visit !! and keeping my cool is increasingly difficult.