Something’s changed. This is remarkably different. It’s not me doing the here-and-there this time. Instead, I get to sit on the uncomfy pleather chairs and watch the far away folks file by in the O’Hare arrivals lounge.
Where is she?
Everything is delayed. Afternoon has become evening has become nighttime has become double espressos at the ubiquitous Starbucks on floor B1.
This is a sport onto itself. There are a thousand stories and a million frequent flier miles that pass by every three minutes. Will Wilma from Duluth make her connection to Dubuque?
Delayed. Cancelled. Cancelled. Cancelled.
The train over here was remarkably interesting this time. A gentleman paced around the platform at Clark & Lake, loudly reading from a book. Here’s the thing though... he wasn’t crazy. Around his neck was a cardboard sign saying “Tag Team Reading, Tag In!”. An art school stunt gone right. I watched as he mulled about until a complete stranger tagged in. Fascinating.
Meanwhile I sit here grounded, metaphorically and literally.
A momentary delay in the non-stop.
It’s not that often that we get a chance to really observe the world around us. There’s no better place than O’Hare. Displaced street kids hanging out in the washrooms. Fat fatherless families from Oklahoma. Businessmen furiously thumbing commands into their blackberries. Foreign investment in the flesh. The immense overwhelming stench of lonely mixed with the gentle relief of familial reunification.
We try to learn their individual stories through simple extrapolation of the observed data available. Through the quick snippet of passing overheard conversation. Two hours ago, that man was in Omaha. A lifetime ago he was on the forty three yard line in Chicago. He loves the excitement of the big city. In his eyes he’s still the quarterback To the cabbie, he’s just another fare. As he tries to grab his bags from carousel 5, he fumbles the reception.
Meanwhile, her one hour flight is five and a half hours late.
This is why we need massive venture capital investment in the field of teleportation. It’s not quite there yet.
It’s snowing outside. Amazing how simple flakes of ice can change everything.
Welcome back, winter. Where you been?
1 comment:
i pop in every couple of weeks to see where you've been. Today you are stuck in the same airport as my father. Ironic. kinda feel like i know you by now. thanks for sharing your travels
- from someone who sits in the same chair, in the same office, in the same location.. every
single
day.
Post a Comment