NY Times: SUNDAY ROUTINE | C. B. BUCKNOR

C. B. Bucknor, 50, was a physical therapist at what was then New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center when, on a whim, he used vacation time to attend umpire school in 1990. A career change ensued. Now, most of his Sundays involve ballgames and airline travel; he umpires 135 Major League games a season, not counting spring training and the playoffs. ...

PLANES AND AIRPORTS After the game, we’re either trying to get to the airport to catch a flight to the next city, or maybe catch a flight home if we have the Monday off. We spend a lot of time in airports and on airplanes; the nice perk is our contract says we have to fly first class. The way the schedule works, they try to get every crew to hit all 30 teams, but it doesn’t always work out. This year we only have one series at the Mets, one at the Yankees. We don’t go to Boston at all, but we go to Arizona four times.