I said good-bye to my Honey and headed through security at the airport. Jackpot! I got the x-ray screening AND a patdown. There was probably a point to that, but it wasn't even a good first date. I guess I should be happy that there was no body cavity search.
After schlepping my stuff off the table, I re-dressed, put away my dangerous little bottle of shampoo, and went to sit for an hour in the boarding area. Which reminds me of a little saying from my pilot days: Time to spare? Go by air.
It is my dear ol' Mother's 90th birthday. She didn't want "any fuss." When I suggested we should do a small open house, she quickly agreed. Things began to expand. Hopefully my flights (yes, that's plural, 'cause you almost can't get from here to there) will be on time... I don't want to be late for the parade, fireworks, and sky-writing. On the bright side, even if I'm delayed due to the crappy weather even further north (yes, I will be flying north beyond her place by several hundred miles, then flying back south)... because that's part of the efficiency of going by air.
Remember when it used to be classy to fly commercial? No one treated you like you were being arrested, no being irradiated, no groping, and you got to leave your shoes on. A smiling flight attendant brought you a pillow and a blanket, and tucked you in... after bringing you a hot meal. Now, it's more like riding the "chicken bus" in a third world country. Everyone looks disheveled after undressing without the benefit of a place to sit, people dress more like they're headed to the gym, and once through security, some folks buy over-priced burritos and chips to eat while they wait and to bring aboard. And now that the airlines charge for a checked bag, people try to "get by" with steamer trunks that they say, "Well, this fit in the overhead of the last plane!" That little fund raiser by the airlines was the last straw - it takes even longer to get everyone boarded since the "personal carry-on" is the size of a great dane and weighs about as much.
If it wasn't for the occasion, and the fact that we will be going this way again in a month and it's too damn early to really go north, I would be traveling by RV or boat. Flying sucks... appropriate, since I'm heading to SUX.
Tomorrow's her birthday. Happy birthday, Mom.
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