Wednesday, April 7, 2010

At the Airport

Pin It I always find it interesting to watch the people who are around me. There always seems to be such a huge variety of of them when you're at the airport; a veritable smorgasbord of ethnicities, ages, styles, and attitudes. Sometimes I wonder about their stories. For instance, take the Asian woman waiting alone wearing the Lucy-Lu sunglasses and sporting the pink bag. There’s also the man hovering over his laptop with the makeshift antennae—one that MacGyver would most certainly be proud of. Or even the creepy-looking older man who I’d noticed was staring at me until I glanced in his direction—and who then looked away.

Each of these people around me has an entire lifetime of experiences and moments. Each of them has a story inside of them - and all of these are different. And yet, here we are, hundreds of individual people who will soon be sharing the common a event of traveling to someplace other than right here where we are.

Funny how something like this makes me feel just a bit closer to some of these folks—the creepy man? No, not him.

Did I mention that I was frisked when I passed though security? The first time this happened wasn’t too long after 9-11, and airport security was at the zenith of its operations. To shake off my embarrassment that day I joked; I said that I usually didn’t win contests, and I felt that I was the lucky winner that particular day. Oh, if only everyone in line were as lucky as I was.

The funny thing was, I really didn’t feel that way at first, but after joking about it, I suddenly realized that attitude was indeed everything and I really did feel like a winner. Attitude helped again this time, too.

You see, I won again today.

15 comments:

Kalei's Best Friend said...

Attitude is definitely EVERYTHING!. Yep u were a winner!.

shoezimm said...

You can also consider yourself lucky that it was airport security that got frisky and not the creepy old man!

Have a safe flight and a fun trip...the ribs will be waiting for when you return along with a delectable "crumble pie".

Oh, sorry I forgot to remind you to be sure to leave your car keys!

shoezimm said...

You can also consider yourself lucky that it was airport security that got frisky and not the creepy old man!

Have a safe flight and a fun trip...the ribs will be waiting for when you return along with a delectable "crumble pie".

Oh, sorry I forgot to remind you to be sure to leave your car keys!

allison nadauld said...

Maybe you're a winner 'cuz you look so threatening. :0) When I was single I always got pulled aside too for "extra" screening. All you need to do is have three screaming children with you and they won't touch you with a three foot pole. So, where are you headed? It must be spring break?

mamahasspoken said...

They pat my son who is in the army down every time too. He thinks it's because he sets off the alarms that detects explosives on you. He'll show his military id, explain that his carry-on also carries mortor rounds in the field, and they still pat him down......
Find it funny that that's how airport security treats the men and women who protect them and our country every day.......Seems like they should have a free skip this line ticket instead.....

Rachel said...

I love sitting and watching people. It is one of my favorite past times. You can tell SO much about a person from their body language. And usually...if you get a creepy feeling about somebody.....there's a reason......hope Mr. Creepy was at the opposite end of the plane from you.

Amy said...

Great perspective! I needed a story just like that one today!! Thanks!

Kelly said...

I absolutely love people watching in airports. And I also feel a small amount of kinship with the people on my same flight. Why are they going to the same place I am? Will we end up on a deserted island with a black smoke monster together?

Best of luck! You'll need lots of good attitude if that happens to you : )

Kelly said...

Oh- I just thought of something worse than having to be patted at the airport. It would be worse (in my opinion) if I had the awful job of patting people all day long.

jayne wells said...

I love your comment about not usually winning--I'm laughing just thinking about it! Have a super trip!

mywest said...

Not everyday that you can be a winner with all in the contest. Yes attitude makes the difference in all things...maybe I could be so lucky with my next trip?

Gerb said...

I say you were a winner because you got to FLY instead of drive! They could pat me down every time I went through security if I got to fly every time I went to California.

Lucky.

Kathy V said...

I have the hardest time not striking up conversations with everyone who is waiting with me in the airport. Yes, a kinship, that's what I feel and I think we should all be talking to each other, not politely ignoring each other. But so far I've managed to restrain myself.

Trevor Holms Petersen said...

HAHA, you would have loved to see me in the airport today. I ran down a full concourse, only to find out it was a dead end, and I ran all the way back up, down a side hall and down the correct concourse, only to find that my siblings who began running after me (from the security check points) had made the correct turn. I arrived as the plane, with half of my family, was pulling away from the gate.

I felt like the kid from Home Alone!

Teachinfourth said...

C - Gotta love winning.

S - I am excited for that combination when I return!

A - I'm in Cali. You'll recognize a few of my 'vacationaries' when you see the photos.

B - Amen to that!

R - It is such a great pastime, isn't it? Mr. C didn't end up sitting next to me, thank goodness.

A - It's all about the different point of view, right?

K - Luckily, we didn't encounter any trouble OR end up on a creepy island with a black smoke monster. As for the job, some people might just like that…

J - So far, it's been a total blast…

D - You can only hope, dad.

G - If that's what constitutes a winner, call me a champion.

K - There are a few times I strike up a conversation with others as well, but it's not usually the norm.

T - Trevor Culkin?

Glad you were finally able to get a flight to the right place.

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