A trip to the airport

Went to the airport today. Now the airport is not my favorite place; too crowded, noisy and just too busy for me....always get very tired while I am there. Today however I decided to just people watch, and see what I could get out of it. It was not that busy on the North side of the airport, so I just sat down on one of the carousels and just people watched. The first thing I noticed was a father sitting down with his little daughter standing in front of him; she looked to be about 4 years old. He was talking to her in very serious tones, and I only got a few lines as I walked by; he was giving her a talk on what to do in case she got lost in the airport, what to do and not to do. I could tell that the little girl knew by the tone of her father's voice that this was serious and that she had better listen. I observed from a distance not hearing, would not want to, but was intrigued by how intent both father and daughter were. At first I felt sad that the girl had to learn at such a young age about the dangers of the world today, and how adults cannot be trusted if she did not know them. Then I realized that the world has never been a safe place, and one of the most important things a parent can teach their children is just that; be on guard. That is what fairy tales are all about; Grim Fairy tales are well named indeed, and many of them do not have happy endings. About ten minutes later the little girl was laughing and running around the carousel with her father playfully chasing her. She did know that she was safe with her dad, and the dad was smiling no longer serious, he smiled at me on the third time around the baggage carousel. For a time at least the daughter felt safe, and protected, and both father and daughter were happy about that. Perhaps the daughter will enjoy life more now, since she did lose a certain innocence today. Lose something gain something; a larger world view even with its darker element is better than a naïve one that could lead to harm.

A few minutes later a very beautiful black woman walked by with a very confident air about her. She had a very nice build, and dressed in ways that showed it off, but it was done in a tasteful manner. I then noticed that she did not have any hands, in fact she seemed to have only about half of her forearms. She had some keys on a rubber cord around her upper arm area and did not seem the least bit self conscious or concerned about her unusual appearance. My first gut reaction was pity, which I soon realized that she did not need any of that. It lifted my spirits to see her for I think I often fall into the trap of a condescending type of pity, that is harmful to me, and is of absolutely no use to any one else. Her aura of self confidence seemed to fill the whole area; I wonder if I was the only one who felt it? Probably not, people are sensitive on many levels toward others.

Next a woman came by with two little boys, perhaps a year old at the most, both very small and sleeping in her double walker. I saw her walking around the airport for few times. Then I looked up, and she was carrying one of the of boys, but the other one, very little, skinny, and a little shaky on his feet, was pushing the walker, I could not believe it! He would push it and then kneel down and rest, pull himself up and push again; I laughed and wished that I had a good camera with me. The mother acted as if it was the most common event, but to me it was glorious indeed. Even at that young age the two twins were much different in how they looked and handled their world. Pushing, getting tired, getting up again; a lesson there somewhere.

Ed, the man I was waiting for finally came up and we were on our way. Ed is a good friend of mine, with a great sense of humor, he always has me laughing with one liners, and caustic observations about life; I always enjoy spending time with him. We went to Long Horn Steak house off of Mt Zion road on 75. I don't eat much steak, but once or twice a year I get a hankering for one. I had a very dry white wine, a rib eye filet, and a salmon steak, served with mash potatoes and cooked apples; with a cup of coffee after the meal. All wonderful, the ribeye melted in my mouth, the salmon was delicious and I had good company. To top it off the waitress was also very good, pleasant and seemed to take pride in her work. I think a good worker is a living piece of art, and when we left, I let her know what a great job she did.

Well I am home, tired after a long day. I also took Emilio, one of my charges to the doctor, another story, perhaps tomorrow.

Peace

Mitch