Flying

I LOVE to fly. I had forgotten how MUCH I love to fly. My favorite part is the take off - the engine roaring throwing me back into my seat.

I really should find a job that lets me fly more often. Teaching doesn't allude to flying.

I also enjoy flying because I get to sit in airports. Airports are a great place to people watch. I am completely guilty of people watching everywhere I go. I sometimes get sucked into others' conversations - so much so that I want to comment about their conversation. Some might find this rude...My excuse is that I am interested. Interested in how others think and act.

I headed to Texas this weekend for a quick little get away with Spencer. Originally it was supposed to be a deep sea fishing trip. Due to high waves, that was nixed, but I already had plane tickets. So, I came on.

In Springfield, before we left to our flight to Dallas, the person who checks our tickets came over the intercom and announced, "Folks there is a slight problem with Flight 3770." (groans were heard all around) "The wash room is not working, so if any of you need to ...uh...wash... I suggest you do it now." I giggled as I watched him come up with the correct wording.

My trip to the Dallas airport did NOT disappoint when it came time to people watch. My flight from Dallas to Houston was delayed several times. We were originally supposed to leave at 9:10 and arrive at 10:20. We finally left at 11:00 and arrived at 12:10. Needless to say this pushed some people over the edge.

There was the guy who spoke way too loudly on the phone cussing out a friend for not spending the extra $10 in gas to drive his direction and pick him up in the airport. I mean he "had been in airports all day!" After about 5-10 minutes of repeated f-bombs, his friend agreed. The guy then started jumping up and down punching the air.
(Later this same guy was heard talking on the phone with his mom, no f-bombs were heard.) :)

Then there was the woman who had gotten booted off an earlier flight due to the shortness of her skirt. She was not happy when this one was now delayed. (I guess this is a more common practice than I realized - see this article.)

Then there was the couple who had joined us from the airport bar. I heard they had been seen downing several shots. When the man heard of the first delay, he started shouting and pacing. The woman he was with(who looked like a Swedish blond) tried to control him - though she was way TOO drunk to do so. The stiletto heels didn't help her balance any either. With every delay, this man got louder and louder. The airport policeman came and circled around making his presence known. This gave the me and people I was sitting around something to talk about. We all pulled out our tickets to see what seat row we were sitting on... and hoped and prayed we were no where near this guy's seat.

I kind of felt sorry for the airport crew. They were continually having to be the bearers of bad news. They didn't choose these delays to piss anyone off. They were simply doing their job. Don't get me wrong, I wanted my flight to be on time, but I also knew there was nothing I could do to change the fact.

I truly enjoyed the one airport worker who made light of the fact, despite all the tension going on around her. When she thought the plane was finally landing she said, "Don't go calling anyone yet - type out a text and wait to send it until you are securely on the plane. " and then she smiled.

If I worked at an airport I would have to be that person... cause all that drama is worse than a soap opera and someone has to relieve all that tension.

When we went to board the plane, the loud pissed off guy we found out was seated in row 1. I was glad I was in row 8. I had to chuckle to myself though as I thought about how this guy probably purposefully chose row 1...and this plane boarded from the rear...which means he would be the last one off. :)