I love the DC-9, even my email address is "jondc9@aol.com". I had the great honor of flying one for about 10 years for USAIR. I got about 6000 hours or so during that time. Let me start by saying it flew like a dream. The pilot still flew the plane then and not the computers. Once you became "one" with the plane, you knew you had a fine sense of flying. Let.us run down the really fine things about the 9:

I can think of NO ONE ever getting sucked into the engine of the DC9, but sadly the 737 can not say the same thing.
The wing, being clear of engines, could be optimised to fly and not to just hold the engines.
The 9 had two different sets of internal stairs, making service to smaller airfields quite easy. The stairs at the main cabin door and the ventral stairs in the tail. Either were quite fine.
Oh the sound in the cockpit of the 9 was so quiet compared to the lesser boeing types like the 737. In the MD80 it was so quiet you were not sure the engines were running without checking the instruments.
The bathrooms were in the tail of our DC9's and you could never smell that awful fluid. On the 737 it frequently stunk up the cockpit.
Even in the event of a rudder hardover, one could lift one lever and turn off the hydraulics to the rudder and still have ffull manual reversion. The 737 has NO manual reversion for the rudder and takes many switches to turn of the hydraulics to the rudder.

Simply put, the DC9 was a really fine plane and I have the utmost respect for the designers, and builders of the plane. To anyone involved in the dc9, I say THANKS.

I would rather fly a well maintained 30 year old DC9 than a brand new 777 or 'bus. It truly is the last "pilot's" airliner.

On my last flight on the DC-9, I placed a gentle, heartfelt kiss on the side of the fuselage near the main door. Sadly, the plane was retired from service before I could make captain. I had to make captain on the 737 and boy was I dissapointed with that plane. I've never had more electrical, hydraulic, control problems with a plane. But that is for a different forum.

--jon