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Travel Demise posted Tuesday, February 08, 2005
To most people the airport is the last place anyone
would want to spend their free time. Whether flying
for business or personal reasons, the common traveler
would quickly chose to eliminate airport aura from
their trip. During the powerful winter season mother
nature tests every travelers patience with storm
alerts. The words 'delayed', replace the soothing
words that read 'on time'. Blood boils and voices
rise. The echoes of each and every delayed traveler
complaining to the nearest stranger, can be heard
within seconds of the delay, and a new friend is made.
Over the course of the wait, thousands of straggled
victims will want to cling to a personal comfort item
to pass the time. Laptops, cell phones, a novel that
was left in their checked baggage or the popular
terminal bar & grill will come to mind. Myself as well
as many other delayed passengers, chose the comfort of
alcohol and strangers, to help vent a common
complaint. We're stranded in neutral territory without
much more then a change of clothes and a toothbrush.
After we come to understanding that we're here for a
while, we watch the others rush by. Stuck in a
twilight zone between countries, often alone, wearing
either big heavy jackets or summer shorts.
I've learned how to 'cheers' a drink in 6 different
languages. After meeting someone of a different
background, it's my favourite ice breaker line to be,
what I hope, an exciting conversation. Bumping into a
women that was on my flight, found to be very lucky.
She told me our airline was secretly giving out $10
meal vouchers to accommodate our delay. By the time I
arrived in the second airport of the day with another
delay I collected a total of $20 in meal vouchers. Not
long after I meet some new friends on the red stools
of the delayed lounge, I found that meal vouchers can
be used for drinks as well. Time passes quickly while
service desk attendants tease us with exaggerated
departure times. At last though, one by one, they make
their final stagger to their gate entrance to return
to the life of responsibility and the comfort of
recognizing their surroundings. They say maybe we'll
meet again, realizing we don't even know each others
first names. It's not really important I thought,
because it's the simple case of airport friends.
What's better then a new temporary friend? Ten.
Learning about people from around the world and what
brought them to share the same time and space as so
many others. Why should airports delays be a bad
thing? Because Bob from Michigan is missing ' Super
Bowl' Sunday in Florida? Because Carol from Alabama
is going to be late for her own party? We're all
missing something and since there's nothing anyone can
do about it, shift your bad thoughts next time to the
farthest reach of your mind and smile. Turn your head
to your lonely neighbour and say "Ya know, stormy days
are what make the sunny days more enjoyable." or you
can just say "Hey". ~Dwayne Mintz
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