Whenever I fly I need help. Now in my 80s, I’ve difficulties walking, stowing carry-ons and other air travel challenges. My experiences with the crews have been mixed.

Some deliberately ignore me or pretend to, and I have to lift my bag and make my way as best as I can. Others rush over with a smile and assist me. In those cases, I’ve offered tips, but they’re usually refused. I know flight attendants aren’t waiters or bartenders, but they do a hell of a lot more and deserve our thanks and more. What do you suggest? PPJ, Milwaukee WI

A: Flight attendants usually don’t expect tips, and in some airlines, they’re actually forbidden from accepting them. However, if you make it a private conversation away from your seat during a non-busy time during the flight, and insist on giving the tip, it may be accepted.

Another idea is what some retiree flyers practice when they receive exceptional service from attendants. They carry and give small items, such as t-shirts, sweaters, handkerchiefs, scarves or pairs of gloves. Also, they ask attendants’ names and send favorable Emails about them to the airline.

Young smartphone-toting travelers aren’t aware of the revolution in photography that has happened just in the last decade or so. Seniors can recall olden days when we ventured out with cameras. Whether a pro or serious amateur, you lugged a heavy bag, bulky camera, several lenses, light meter, shutter cable, big flash unit, glass film plates or dozen rolls of film.

The Old Ways: Whenever a great scene happened, we hauled out all the gear, then had to connect, focus and shoot. By the time we were ready, the right moment too often had already passed.

When travel ended in olden days, exposed film went to a processing lab. Then we had to wait anxious days for the prints or slides, blindly hoping everything went right.

Today’s Photo Miracles: Most cameras are DSLR (digital single lens reflex), much more compact than the old SLRs, and require no extra add-ons. The self-contained lenses go from wide-angle to telephoto, with auto exposures and flash.

Results are immediate, no waiting for processing. When more shooting is necessary, the digital camera’s capabilities are endless, with easy focus on back-of-camera flat screens.

Tho artistically distorted by the roaming travel4seniors.com editor’s creative lens, seasoned movie fans can still recognize this memorable image. This is where Sylvester Stallone scaled the steps all the way to the top in 1976’s Rocky movie.

On second thought, maybe this could be what the steps would actually look like to a challenged senior jogger about to attempt climbing all 72 of them. Suggestion: If you’re in Philly with your grandkids, and before they dash off to school, run up the steps with them and into one of the world’s most fascinating museums. For info and current exhibits, go to www.philamuseum.org

No, retired Marines. This place has nothing to do with your hymn’s Halls of Montezuma. And for other senior travelers who’ve eaten bad food from an ethnic food cart, it isn’t Montezuma’s revenge.

A thousand years ago, cliff-dwelling Native Americans lived in these high-rise primitive condos, that were hollowed out over eons by Mother Nature. Montezuma Castle was named by early European explorers, who mistakenly thought it was the home of the historic Mexican emperor.

A National Park Service area, Montezuma Castle is located along Beaver Creek in Camp Verde, off Highway I-17, about 45 minutes south of Flagstaff and 90 minutes north of Phoenix. For visitor and other info, go to www.nps.gov/moca