Seriously- THANK a Pilot!

This is going to be more on the chatty side when it comes to my posts. 
I can't stop thinking about flying after all of the traveling I've been doing lately. That's why I wanted to express my thoughts about travel, planes and most importantly: flying. Growing up as a little girl, my dad was a pilot and he spent countless hours up in the air flying small Cessna planes. A lot of times, my brother or I would go with him. I loved the thrill of being up in the air and seeing all the houses down below. They looked like little dollhouses and I felt like I was on top of the world. It was so fun to fly!
After all of the recent plane catastrophes we have heard (missing Malaysia flight, crashed AirAsia flight, crashed Germanwings flight) I am no longer excited to get on a plane and get to my next adventure. All I can think about is if my feet will ever touch the ground again...and I don't like feeling that way. No one does. It's stressful, makes my chest hurt and truly does not feel good to know that my life (and three hundred other people's lives are on the line.) We put our life in the hands of a captain, a co-pilot and the plane's mechanic state. If the plane hasn't been maintenanced properly and the pilot doesn't pick up on it before we take off, we could be screwed. If the smallest thing doesn't function, we could be screwed. Seriously people- your life is in the hands of the pilots manning the flight.
What I always find myself doing is thanking the pilots for a great landing (if it was a great landing) and their face lights up with happiness and they joyfully say "thank you very much!" You know why they get so excited? Because passengers do not compliment them on a smooth flight or a great flight or a great landing. Those words do not come out of 95% of the passengers mouths. What does come out of people's mouths is their frustration for being delayed. We have alllll done it, it's true. Delayed three hours? What the f*&$!? The other thing is once the plane lands, people are just trying to get off the plane as soon as possible and get to their business meeting or see the family that's waiting outside for them. Which is wrong. Without this pilot, you may not have had the opportunity to even get to your business meeting or see your family at all. Tell the pilot thank you. He deserves that at the very least.
This pilot is a good person who has gotten you from one destination to another. I am so passionate about thanking them for a good flight, a good landing, for getting me on the ground- ANYTHING because it means a lot to them. At the end of the day, you got where you needed to go. That is enough to be thankful.
The next time you travel and your flight is delayed two hours, don't start cussing and displaying yourself with an attitude. Thank your pilot for getting you from Destination A to Destination B safely. Him and his co-pilot deserve a lot of credit so be sure to say thank you.