Come Fly With Me

This will probably sound strange, but I love airports. I love flying, I love boarding, and I even love those moving walkway things. I don't love the food, but then again I'm not completely crazy. I love to see the planes come and go and I LOVE to people watch. People from all over the world coming and going, some rushing, some taking their time, some shopping, some eating, some grooming, some doing business and some getting settled for a long vacation. There are so many types of people feeling so many different things. This is what I love most. You can see people full of frustration and haste rushing to get from one gate to the next while checking their email, balancing their checkbook, and adjusting their stockings all at once. Others may be laughing and hugging, so happy to be reuniting with loved ones, even for just a few days. They are so excited about whats to come in this visit whether it be a holiday or a bachelor party. Other people you see may be sad after just parting, having to say goodbye again to a friend, to a child, to a parent, a piece of themselves that they don't want to leave behind. Sometimes I wonder if it's the energy of so many things happening simultaneously that draws me to the airport. Reluctant endings, hopeful beginnings, so much all at once. When I travel by car, I miss this anticipation. When you drive, you and all your emotion are contained in your vehicle. Like cells within the human body, everyone zooms by minding their own business, going here or there. You can't see or feel what the other drivers are experiencing (except on those rare occasions when certain drivers reveal their feelings through finger gestures, but we won't go into all that now :) ). The airport is where it all comes together, the heart of traveling. People still coming and going, but you see them as a person not just another hunk of metal speeding by. I guess it is a little odd that I am so fascinated by such a filthy, hectic, and stressful place. Perhaps the real attraction is because on a sub-conscious level, I'm just really excited to indulge in my superstitious and delightful combination of ginger ale and Twizzlers on the plane. What ever the reason, I can't wait for my next flight and be a part of the airport vivacity (as long as I don't forget my quart-sized bag!).