Airport adventures

WIth my new  haircut, clean shaven look and updated clothes,  I set of to the airport ready for round two, I feel much better in my new clothes as they were truly hanging of my body, people were giving me very strange looks, I was even followed around shops by security I was looking that bad.  It’s late in the evening when I reach the airport for my flight that I am really not looking forward to. I am shattered and tired from the lack of sleep and find myself trying to keep my head together so I can find the correct check-in counter to get rid  of this rucksack that is starting to bother me.

“The buzz starts to kick in at the airport that I am off on another journey, a journey that I do not know where I will end up, all I have done is booked the ticket, I have no accommodation setup my plan is to just rock up and see what happens, something will happen for sure it always does. Then the plan will unfold as each step and each breath is taken and each decision will be made as each minute passis  in that foreign land that I am eager to reach.

I find my check-in counter by scrolling down the information flight board, scanning for a colour and number that matches my itinerary. I find the information that I need and make my way to the counter. I walk past the wrapping machine that secures your baggage in transit with around 20 wraps of plastic that is non recyclable at cost of ten pounds or something,  And sure enough it reminds me of a birthday present gone wrong whilst walking past it.

I stand in line at counter number 306 in that all familiar zig zag line waiting to check in, checking everyone out wondering what their up to,  and what adventures wait in line for them.

No one is stood behind me at the moment, but then I see something that I start to dread. I shut my eyes at the now approaching problem, I calculate that I have around 30min to wait my turn to reach the check-in to rid me of this baggage that I am now kicking slowly towards the end of it’s time, surely this is not happening! I can feel my head bagging from the day's draining heat because I have not drunk enough water throughout the day to keep hydrated, I am feeling irritable tired and snappy, and now I got to deal with this, I just want to push through past security to departure lounge to where I can just sit and watch humanity drift on by.

The problem stands behind me, and I can see that this man has no partner to help him and I feel for him. I look at him in the eyes with this look of “are you serious” he looks to one side then back at me, I raise my eyebrows with this stern look across myface, for that moment I do not feel human. The emotions have got hold of me like a wild animal, caged and unable to escape. Then I get kicked straight in the back of the leg, did that just happen “ I think to myself” I shut my eyes and breath, again it happens, with that I turn around to look at this man, I then look down at this 4 year old  who has decided that I will be his victim for the duration.  He stares up at me as if lost he has not stopped screaming since his arrival at terminal 3. The cry of tears pour out with this screeching that I am sure he has perfected in his 4 years of his earthly life.  “bless his little soul; This man that I believe is his  father now holds him in his arms to comfort him but unfortunately his cries have now intensified as the youngset is now at ear height,  a ringing starts in my ears that give me flashbacks from underground raves back in the  90s where music had no sound regulations.

My eyes feel like they are spinning around my head like a fruit machine gone wrong, I slap my head to re-adjust my built in app to focus on reality once again. As the cue slowly disappears in front of me I find myself at the front waiting eager for the next free check-in to pop up. It’s my turn, I walk forward to where the check-in lady greets me where I greet her back and throw my bag on the baggage belt where it is weighed and taken off to the plane. I hand her my documents, happy to be stood there and putting the past 30min behind me with a smile as if it had never happened.

I get my boarding card and she hands back my rather tatty passport where the markings of the country from where it belongs to has been erased from a great deal of use. I rush to security, where the army of procedures start, pat downs are in full swing. I line up with the rest of the now waitting airport watching everyone stumbling through their pockets to make sure they have no loss change for the security machine to pick up on. One lady is behind me another in front, we approach the scanner  and security tells the lady to take of her shoes,  she looks towards me and we shrug our shoulders at the drama. As I approach for my turn, security tells me to take off my shoes in case I have stuffed some sort of surprise in there, that I may use in some high tech hijack along with my sidekick, the most dangerous granny in the world who is now getting patted down by security.

The lady turns her head towards me as I roll my head back to say “please no”. I take my boots of and the pungent smell quickly enters the air, that drift's towards the scanner were security raises their head’s at me, “ I bet I get patted down I think to myself, but they almost rush me through.

Freedom ! the departure lounge, but first  I have to make it through the cosmetic duty free shop to where half the airport is trying out the choking aftershave and perfume in a bid to hide their natural smell that is going to attract so much beauty. I get through just in time before nearly passing out and falling helplessly to the ground from holding my breath a little to long as I got lost in a cloud of  Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Jean paul gaultier chanel, Emporio armani and god knows what else that was being sprayed out into the ozone layer.

The hussel and bussel of people, the different colors of life how beautiful it is. I sit back and people watch, people sat in bars having a beer or coffee in hand, chatting away laughing and joking, or just sat there on their laptops & smartphones connecting to the cyber life style of business pleasure or wherever the click of the button takes them to. The look of excitement in some, and the look of worry in others as they approach a time when their humanoid body will soon be strapped into a huge chunk of metal and boosted into the atmosphere by the human's creation, with fingers and toes crossed in a hope that they arrive safly to their destinations around the world.

I get chatting to a few people who are very interesting, one is a businessman and we chat for half hour before his flight is ready, we say our goodbyes never to meet each other again in life.  The other person is a very sophisticated looking lady who catches my attention whilst I pop up to a bar to grab a coffee, she walks up behind me and stands to the side of me, I can't really be bothered to talk but she looks at me, so I say hi, a conversation starts and we end up sitting on a table chatting away the time, we get caught up in the moment and she nearly missis her flight dashing of leaving a trail of fire behind her.

I wonder of to my gate passing people sprawled across the floor trying to get some sleep, well others have kicked off their shoes to rest their feet. At the boarding gate I show my boarding pass and passport for the final check of identification and that I am boarding the correct flight, then I proceed down the ramp to  the waiting plane and it’s crew. I am greeted by the flight attendants with there friendly faces, and told where my seat is.

I walk towards my seat up the plane's aisle with the other passengers, the ones who are seated stare at us others with blank faces, some already have their headphones in bopping away to there music. Some people are standing trying there best to fit their hand luggage into the overhead compartments while the rest of us wait patiently behind them, and the cabin crew twiddle their thumbs impatiently at the chaos that is a familiar annoying sight I am sure. I find my seat D11 that is next to a man who is well and truly on his way to fame, by listening to his music via his headphones whilst tapping both hands on his legs with his lips and eyes tightly shut, in the moment for sure.  

With the plane now full, bags rammed into the overhead lockers and everyone seated, the flight crew prepare for take off, checking and re-checking, now happy to stand in the aisle doing there emergency briefing to the odd person who takes note. “I swear they should make it into a dance routine to get people's attention, the dance Y.M.C.A would be fabulous and would go down a treat.

Strapped in I wonder where I will sleep on my early morning arrival. Take off, my ears pop and food is served.

Airport adventures: