1 post tagged “home sweet home”
So I woke up again this morning at 4am and made my way to the airport. And...as usual, there's always lots to look at in total befuddlement about the whole aviation experience.
I pondered the sanity (and taste) of the woman who sported a red pea coat and pink flip flops, in upper forty degree weather. I gave a haughty older woman a good old fashioned Philly good morning when she turned and answered, "what?" to my request to be excused so I could access the ticket kiosk. (RPM sans coffee at 4:45am after a day of flight delays could easily take Rocky, the 28 year old version or the 68 year old version) I questioned the logic of security checkpoints being chronically understaffed in large airports and incredibly efficient in airports with a quarter of the traffic. Shouldn't it be the other way around? I wondered how much faster we could deplane if people weren't in a rush to stand and clog up the aisles as soon as the seat belt light and bell goes off. My travel schedule is about to pick up again - and every season I wonder the same things at least 25 times.
Travel can really bring out the worst in people.
On my flight from Cincinnati to Austin, we made our way across the sky in a puddle jumper. I thought I'd have my seat to myself until a woman with a small elephant as carry-on, tapped me on the shoulder to access the window seat I was secretly coveting. While she tried to shove the elephant under the seat in front of her, I glanced around for another seat to escape to. While my head was turned, this woman decided to sit on my lap whle she organized her things.
"Ummm...ma'm?" I said, peering around her arm. She turned, and with great shock replies..."Oh! I didn't know I was sitting on your lap!" She stands and so do I, to give her all the space she needs to organize Babar, her purse, a sack of novels and a blanket. Once SHE is settled, I sat.
Shortly thereafter, the flight attendant asks 5 people from rows 1-6 to select seats in rows 8-13. An unusual request but a nice opportunity to get away from the "lap dancer" and her elephant - so needless to say I offered myself up. I still wonder what that was about, but it was a smooth flight, so I'll let it go.
On the SAME flight, we later had an escaped cat named Hershey. Hershey climbed out of his case while his "mom" slept, and soon made a mockery of all of us, darting in and out of the aisle in various rows until the flight attendant finally cornered him near the pilots door.
Snakes on a plane? Try baby Babar and frisky felines.
So I'm back home. Pardon me while I take a break tonight to spend some quality time with a person I've missed a great deal...
me.
Be back tomorrow.
