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When I first began traveling for my job, I was young and saw travel as exciting and glamorous. Years later, I consume high quantities of orange juice to ward off germs and bring as many distractions as will legally fit in my carry-on luggage.

With my slacks I wear loosely tied tennis shoes that will slide off easily at the check point. My travel toiletries all come in sizes under three ounces and I only bring what I can fit inside one, clear quart-sized plastic bag.

The glamour is gone. And that's not all that has changed over the years.

Airports used to use their public address systems to announce delays and note when and where you could smoke. After 9-11, they began announcing what would be confiscated at the security check points, while also reminding travelers to keep their luggage with them at all times and report any suspicious activity.

However, while traveling last week, most announcements were directed at individual travelers. Several announcements were made to reunite passengers with their lost cell phones. Astonishingly, several people, in a span of only 90 minutes, lost their cell phones somewhere between ticketing and their gates.

As for me, my cell phone stays securely on my person. Sure, I put it in the bin and slide it through the scanner at the check point. But it is the first thing I grab, before my shoes or laptop, on the other end. But then, I recently became one of those highly addicted berry-users.

One person was notified of leaving a boarding pass in a terminal shop. I imagine this person placed it on the counter while paying for bottled water and a newspaper, then forgot to slide it back in their wallet.

Sadly, each person notified through the PA system was called by name and humiliated in front of hundreds of strangers. The atmosphere was more like a high school than an airport. I kept waiting for someone to cancel intramural volleyball and remind everyone to turn in their fundraising money by Tuesday.

What they should have been announcing throughout the terminals was the number of times one may slam down an overhead compartment door in an effort to cram in "carry on" luggage.

After watching passengers repeatedly try to stuff their suitcases in spaces that were obviously too small, I wondered how much ticket prices would jump to cover repairs to overtaxed overhead compartments. There are several that will need new hinges and latches before the end of the month. Then again, maybe replacing hardware is less costly than paying to check bags. Someone should do a financial comparison.

While not so concerned with passengers destroying storage on the plane, the flight attendants have become a bit more assertive than I remembered from past experiences. If you read my blog, you already know that I was busted for taking off my seatbelt before the plane was parked at the gate.

The flight attendants also forcibly moved seat backs to their upright position while securing the plane for take off and landing. Gone are the days when they ask politely for the passengers to do it. They simply go up and down the aisles, reach for the button and pull the seat into its upright position. I suppose this is a good thing, as there are lots of passengers who simply don't abide by the rules.

For example, on my last flight last week, as I was making my way back to my home airport, the gentleman seated next to me refused to turn off his electronic device. We were on a new plane with a warning light that clearly stated, in the location where the old "No smoking" sign used to continuously illuminate: TURN OFF ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES.

Not only did this gentleman not comply, but when the assertive flight attendants walked by checking seat belts, tray tables and seat backs, he hid the device in his crotch area -- practically sitting on it.

Not wanting to make a scene, I simply shook my head and then dropped it into my hands, conveying with strong body language that all our lives were now in jeopardy -- yes, I saw the MythBusters episode that proved it is plausible for electronic devices to interfere with instrumentation -- all because of the guy next to me who felt compelled to beat his high score on Brick Breaker. Was he not aware that the game can be paused?

If it had just been the game, I could have assumed he had his device set to airplane mode. However, when he started reading e-mail, I just knew we were in trouble. Clearly this guy never watched the Discovery Channel.

Somehow, an hour later, we landed safely. I was so relieved that I did not take off my seatbelt until the plane was parked at the gate.

Micki Bare is a columnist for the Arkansas News Bureau and the Courier-Tribune in Asheboro, N.C., and author of the book, "Relative Expressions." She lives in Asheboro with her husband and three children. Her e-mail address is mickibare@inspiredscribe.com