Tough Guy

On a recent flight from RDU to somewhere, I was in one of two (short) security lines awaiting the opportunity to disrobe my jackets/sweaters/shoes and scramble for my toiletries hoping my well worn ziplock bag survives yet another run through. As I stood awaiting my chance to place things into bins, I overheard two men having this conversation...

Man #1 (a dad traveling with his wife and toddler son):  "Excuse me you just cut in line...you were in that line over there (my line) and you skipped ahead in line here" 
[At first, I thought he was kidding]

Man #2 (older business traveler)  Nodding in agreement - "Look I'm going to miss my flight"
[Not really amused or interested in having the conversation]

Man #1: "You just skipped in the line - you were over there and now you jumped ahead in line. Move. I hope you do miss your flight"

Man #2:  "Look I'm really going to miss my flight"

Man #1: "I really hope you do miss your flight. You don't like what I'm saying? What are you going to do about it tough guy"

Mom #1 (ME):  Since this was taking place just behind me over my shoulder, I could not resist nor listen to these men argue in this manner a second longer. I whipped around, looked them dead in the eye and said...."Ok. How old are you - both of you. Really". 

At that moment it occurred to me I could quickly be picked up by either of them and thrown on the conveyer belt to be sent through the scanner horizontally if I wasn't careful.  The man behind me doubled over laughing at the men so I think he would have blocked for me if necessary. The two men said nothing from that point on and I felt a small victory rise within. I stood taller as I cleared the security area. I wondered what my kids would have said to all of that. The "family man" avoided eye contact.

The unfortunate thing about it all was that "family man" just wanted the actions to be acknowledged and to be asked before a cut in line was granted. He might have still said no. Who knows. The business traveler, with his entitlement bubble surrounding him, didn't find himself accountable to his actions in any way and placed more value on himself than anyone around him.

Let us try to all get along and not lose others for ourselves.  Welcome to the boarding area - please take your seat.

Friendly skies and cuss words

Day 1 - 38 degrees, Day 2 - 50 degrees, Day 3 - 74 degrees.  How do I pack for that trip!?!  Layers here I come.

I find it a privilege to fly on Southwest Airlines. It is indeed the serious airline that doesn't take itself too seriously.  Legitimate, efficient, friendly, and a purposeful attitude without the fuss. Thank you for the reminder - I should strive to be this in my daily life.

Today at the office I sat next to an IT guy. I have no bias against IT guys - heck I married one - but what's with the potty mouth?  Troubleshooting software issues, and checking online forums and release notes, but with the added color of F-bombs thrown in every other sentence. It certainly didn't help him find what he was looking for any faster and it was so unnerving in that quantity.  I reset my mental equilibrium via phone with the sound of a boy named Carter.

Sheesh.

Night Vision

If flying at sunset is like looking at photos of the Caribbean (at some cellular level you feel you are there), flying at night is therapeutic, like time slowing. Calm is inevitable. 

I see my own reflection in the window, powered by the glow of my laptop and the light above the man in the aisle seat reading my discarded paper. Cities seen through the clouds below your wings; orange lights concentrated around what must be a city center and all around people’s lives are happening.  It is like waving to someone going by - temporary but very present. Some cities resemble a spider web, highways and byways seen in a circular layout. Others resemble no pattern at all and are sporadic and disconnected in their design. Who knows what city this might be below me.

The landscape always has lights. Even in the darker places there are lights. The towns connect, one to the next, and the next after that. Our moments, much like our towns, connect like a lighted trail across all our lives.  It never quite goes completely dark across this route. We must appreciate the dim as much as the bright, as being part of that path.

Mom who works

I met another 'mom' traveler this trip – we’re a society of few with children under or around the age of 10; an elite club of the non-elite type.  We can compare sitter snafoos, pickup disasters, and scheduling mishaps (which required our attention in the middle of a meeting or during a flight connection in line on the jet bridge), as if they happened yesterday. Then there are the stories of the delayed departure that caused us to miss bedtime tuck in rituals, or the quiet sad voice message from our little person asking when we will be home, and of course our ever present juggle to maximize our minimal days away and in the skies. 

As the conversation ended I felt even more grateful for my flexible schedule and beautiful balance to be not a working mom, but a mom who works.  Grateful that I am present enough to conduct a professional conference call with others in any city AND still talk shop about the carpool craziness of yesterday with fellow moms from school.