Let see…Alaska…killer polar bears…death-inducing cold…murderous mosquitoes…

Okay, Alaska Airlines doesn’t care what I think, but they do want to know what the state’s schoolchildren think, and in order to do so, they’ve started a “Paint the Plane” contest.

Here’s the deal: whoever comes up with a design that “best captures the theme of ‘The Spirit of Alaska’” will get to see that design painted on one of the carrier’s aircraft. And there’s a prize, too - the winner gets to go to…Disneyland!

Wait a sec — they had to go out of state for a decent prize?

Just kidding, I do like Alaska. It’s beautiful. Now go enter the contest - but please, the killer polar bear concept has been spoken for.

I’ve been reading about the babymoon trend for some time — a last big travel fling for expectant parents. ABC recently has this story on it.

The whole idea is “last minute pampering” before Junior arrives — at resorts that include such things as massages and even “craving chefs”.

Wonder if these guys have ever been pregnant? The last thing I wanted to do was “travel” — that’s just work, these days. And forget that “glow” everyone talks about — sometimes, pregnant women don’t look their best — and may not be all that keen on frolicking in public.

Another thought — do we really want to blow Junior’s college fund on a last minute fling?

Relax. I have an alternative:

1.) Stay home. 2.) Sit on couch. 3.) Surround self with snacks. 4.) Watch old episodes of the Mary Tyler Moore show, to remind you what it was like to be carefree, single and childless. Or watch the Brady Bunch.

Note: this do-it-yourself “babymoon” can be enjoyed by all. Try it today!

In a story that seems to have been concocted by a screenwriting robot in Hollywood, a 3-year-old girl was left behind at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel as her parents and her four brothers flew to Paris.

In all of the confusion that it takes to get a large family to the airport and on to the plane, the little girl got lost in the mix and was left wandering the duty-free section of the terminal. Luckily, the child sought out a police officer for help. Once the officer and airline employees figured out what was going on, the little girl flew to Paris on a separate flight, accompanied by an airline official. Eventually, the family was reunited in the City of Lights.

Here’s the catch, though. The parents didn’t realize the little girl was gone until 40 minutes into the flight when they were informed by an airline employee. OK, you have five kids. We know things can get crazy out there, but whatever happened to the good old buddy system or a quick roll call or something?

Luckily, this story turned out OK, and other than those potential parental negligence charges facing the parents, the family is alright.

Visit City News for more on the story and check out Home Alone - okay, LEFT alone (at the airport, anyway) for more tales of children getting stranded at airports.

UPDATE: Southwest gave them refunds. If you ask me, Southwest went way above & beyond.

Okay, a mother and her four kids (and a pregnant aunt) were flying Southwest from Detroit to Phoenix to Seattle.

But Phoenix was the end of the line as far as the airline was concerned. According to Southwest, the kids were “disruptive and unruly” and the airline feared for the safety of the passenger and crew.

A news report noted that two of the children have medical problems, but Mom admits the kids “were a little bit out-of-control” and heck, this was their first flight.

Anyway, the family did get to Seattle, but the report gives us no clue as to what airline eventually flew them. Wonder what was that flight like?

See the video. Were you on the plane with them? If so, describe.

Okay, there’s mother, father, grandma, grandpa and toddler. Here’s the story of their Big Adventure.

Earlier this month, the happy little family was running, running, running to catch an Air Canada flight in the Vancouver airport. With no time to spare, they made the plane. All got onboard, and all were scattered throughout the aircraft.

Which is apparently why nobody noticed that nobody had the toddler. Yes, the beloved little tyke had been forgotten. He was eventually found by some Air Canadians, no doubt wondering where the heck everyone had disappeared to.

Actually, this is an extraordinary story of detective work on the part of the airline folks, who eventually reunited the kid with his parents (among the hurdles: the child was a lap sitter so he didn’t show up on the manifest, plus he was only 2-years old so he didn’t speak much, plus what little he did speak was Tagalog — this was an immigrant family from the Philippines).

Hey, all’s well that ends well.

No, no, that’s the wrong answer and you should be ashamed of yourself. The correct response is, both have made the “No Fly” list.

The senator has since gotten himself off the list, but not so our young hero. The 5-year old Seattle area lad was at Sea-Tac last week, heading to LAX with his mom.

Then, the long arm of the law reached out: Not so fast, son! You Are On Our List.

Of course, it was Mom who got frisked. Go figure. But eventually, they got on the plane.

Saw this on Consumerist. And Consumerist never leaves you hanging–here’s their link to getting yourself OFF the “No Fly” list. Oh, and here’s some video of the kid. He seems harmless…

You’ve heard this one before; an airline takes your money ($75 in this case) for the “unaccompanied minors” fee, and then, neglects the kid in question.

That’s what happened to a Seattle-area man, who was sending his 14-year old son solo on Northwest to Buffalo, NY.

The boy was left alone in an airport waiting room; he fell asleep. Did the airline personnel forget all about him? Does Frosty-the-Snowman melt in the sun?

Kid missed two flights. Dad is mad.