Airports

I spent 5-in-a-half hours in an airport yesterday. About one hour in the Oakland airport waiting for my flight, and another 4-in-a-half in the Seattle airport waiting for Katie to arrive. Watching people interact in airports is entertaining, especially when one has so much time on their hands.

Most people in airports are rush, rush, rush. They are in a big hurry, running all over the place. You can see the stress on their faces as they wait at the ticket counter, then wait to get to security, then go through the hassles of security, then proceed to attempt to find their gate on time before the boarding time. These rush rush people often forget there are other people in the airport. They don't pay attention to their surroundings, focusing in only on their final destination.

Other people seem to see traveling as a social event. They talk to people sitting next to them in the terminal, on the plane, at a bar, at the coffee shop, in the gift store, the restroom, etc. It's good when the talkers find each other, but not so good when a talker stops a rush rush. The talkers can talk about anything. Some ramble on and on about pets or grandchildren of theirs, others press their political and religious views on others.

Then there is the group that I belong to. The watchers. I watch both the talkers and the rush rush people and interact with them occasionally when I am approached. I take along props, which make me appear busy, but really they are just for show. Often times I will "read a book," looking at the pages and flipping them when I feel the appropriate time has passed. But I'm not really reading, I'm paying more attention to my surroundings than the words on the page. I will put my iPod in, but this too is only a prop, used so I can listen to the conversations around me, without anyone being suspicious. The watchers interact when approached, or when they find a conversation so enthralling they decide to jump in.

The rush rush people, the talkers, and the watchers all make the traveling experience very interesting. People from different regions and backgrounds fit into categories and can be seen behaving in predictable ways when traveling.