There is a scene in Frank Capra's "It's A Wonderful Life" that I enjoy. Okay, there are a bunch of scenes I enjoy, but this scene supports my blog this morning.
George: You know what the three most exciting sounds in the world are?
Billy: Uh-huh. Breakfast is served; lunch is served, dinner...
George: No, no, no, no! Anchor chains, plane motors, and train whistles.
I picked up my hubbie from the airport Friday, and I love airports. I don't actually go on planes that often, but occasionally, when hubbie has a conference, I will pick him up from the airport.
It is just that the parking fees are so high that I don't like him leaving his car for a week. Anyway, I tell him that, but I also enjoy just watching people at the airport.
I arrive a full 20 minutes before his flight arrives, mainly to people-watch.
Savannah has a smallish airport, though by its name, Savannah International Airport, you would think it was some huge airport. I have been told by unreliable sources that this is due to its amenities and that we have a few flights coming from outside the US. I personally think it has more to do with drug traffickers, but I also wonder how many people were in the grassy knoll.
Anyway, back to my love of airports, when I am not actually using them myself. When I have all the time in the word and do not have to go through "airport security", I love airports. Okay, before 9-11, I was able to go all the way to the gate. Now, not so much.
But to see people embrace after a week, two weeks, a semester. Who knows? It is the most wonderful scene. I remember, not this time, but one time, watching a young married couple – him in an Army uniform, her in t-shirt and shorts – say "goodbye." She seemed to devour the young soldier. Not that I would want to be married to a soldier, but in that moment, if I could have, I know I wanted to trade places with that young bride.
I see mothers, fathers embrace their young ones after a trip – so sweet. And sometimes, little two- and three-year-olds, completely exhausted and asleep when greeting "Daddy" or "Mommy." Poor little ones. Sweet little ones.
I love airports, and as George Bailey reminds us, airplanes, trains and ships are exciting because of possibilities. They can take you anywhere. But you know, for me, I love seeing these modes of transportation bringing loved ones home. And it reminds me to pray for those solders, sailors and airmen in harms way: wishing all of them safe passage home.
Monday, October 02, 2006
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3. My Stories. Yeah, I have a few erotic stories here. I know, they are not all that good, but they were fun to write. Don't read them if this offends you (and they represent less than 1% of the content here). These stories have elements of truth and fantasy, some more true than others. Complain about something that is a bit more substantive if you must complain. I have lots of faults.
10 comments:
great post...
I once had to fly through the Port Angeles International Airport in Washington. It's one room. Think of the set on the old sitcom Wings, but with only one airline desk and a snack bar only open banker's hours. It was an international airport because it was on the border with Canada and sometimes flew there.
Your post reminds me of a scene from Dogma in which they're talking about how airports are a microcosm of life.
I really should look around the airport more when I fly rather than spending my time wondering if that person's baby is going to scream throughout the flight, or if that unwashed person is going to sit next to me.
When I was younger, a cheap date that I enjoyed was hanging around LAX, watching people and making up thier stories...We can not do that now. Just one more thing we have to thank Al Qaeda for......
~gkw: thanks
grant: I think a lot of small airports probably look very similar.
joe: crap, I think Dogma would be the last movie I would want a post to be like (though I have not seen the movie).
mal: I loved those types of cheap dates.
KYCM: And god bless you, too.
There is much human drama at airports, and I have been through them throughout a good chunk of the world. I am definitely in your school (hence the George Bailey school) on this topic. The neatest airport I think I ever flew into was Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. There, in the tiny terminal, you are greeted by a little man with a ukelele at 3 a.m. when the flight from LA arrives. He is to make you feel at home. It's very cool.
Your friend, Ian
ian: THe airport at Rarotonga in the Cook Islands sounds fabulous.
zack: I have not heard of the "Nancy Hanks".
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My friend and I were recently discussing about the prevalence of technology in our day to day lives. Reading this post makes me think back to that debate we had, and just how inseparable from electronics we have all become.
I don't mean this in a bad way, of course! Ethical concerns aside... I just hope that as the price of memory decreases, the possibility of transferring our memories onto a digital medium becomes a true reality. It's one of the things I really wish I could experience in my lifetime.
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