Airports

I'm in an airport again. This time it's the Gold Coast airport on a flight to Sydney. I'll be in Sydney for a night and then tomorrow onto Auckland, New Zealand. As of today, I only have 6 weeks left until I get home. In spite of the fact that 6 weeks is much longer than the average vacation, this vacation as a whole feels like it has flown by and at the same time has taken forever. I still remember my last Sunday in Sarasota before I left in August. I was hugging my pastor's kids and fighting back tears because I knew I wouldn't see them for 8 months. Those three kids have a special place in my heart, and I can't wait to see them again when I get back in April. 6 weeks, doesn't seem real somehow.

In an airport, there are usually a few things that are the same at pretty much every airport I've been to. There are food stands and a newspaper/magazine store, along with the occassional clothing store and duty free store that usually sells liquors of some sort. It always amazes me just how many people are in an airport at any given time. Where are all these people going? Where am I going? My friend told me a while back that they had cut back significantly the number of flights they were offering in the USA. I couldn't believe it as it always seems packed in most airports with a seemingly constant stream of planes arriving and departing. There's only one instance I can think of where I actually had a significant discussion with someone in an airport. She was waiting for her friend and I had a major layover so we ended up talking for 2 hours without having hardly any silence. It's a good way to pass the time. Unfortunately, most people are on their laptops or zoned out listening to their I-pods or chatting away on their cell phones or have their head buried in a book or magazine, myself included in this list obviously. It makes sense though, doesn't it? You'll never see these people again, so what's the point in getting to know someone? Then again, don't we all long for face to face communication instead of digital? It takes a pretty outgoing person to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger. I've only been able to pull it off a couple of times. In a hostel, the conversations usually consist of, "Where ya from? How long of a holiday are you on? Where are you going next?" Not much else. It makes me wonder how many people out there are incredibly lonely. How many people are silently hurting, because no one will take the time to look up from their newspaper or latest gadget? Sometimes you get lucky and have a kid that you can make faces to and try and make them smile and laugh. Once on a flight I helped a mom who was flying with a 4 year-old and a baby by playing with the 4 year-old to keep him occupied. A friend of mine informed me that she likes when there are kids on planes. In spite of the example listed above, I usually prefer when there aren't kids on planes. They just cry and throw fits usually. This will probably come back to bite me if I ever have kids and undoubtedly will still want to travel. Everyone will stare and I'll be like, "I know, I know, believe me, it's worse when you're the one that has to try and shut the baby up." Who knows?

Well, I've got to go. My flight is boarding.