The friendly skies

I love to fly.  I don't get to do it often, but I love every opportunity to be above the clouds.  It's the only time when you are a part of a random group of people who have, for one reason or another, chosen your same path for the day.  You leave the earth for a bit, enclosed in another world, separate from the chaos of being grounded.  No phones, no doorbells, no texts.  People read and sleep and get to know a stranger.  It is calmer in that small sampling of humanity.

An airplane is the best place to people watch.  There are always the suits, itching to open their laptops at 10,000 feet.  There are the forlorn, having just said a tearful airport goodbye.  There are children nibbling on goldfish with their legs straight out on the big seat.  There's tattooed tough guy, stinky perfume lady, the loud-talker and Mr. Giant Carry-on Bag.  Even the person who is always rude is okay because they are also a piece of the American puzzle.  Maybe someone is flying to the funeral of a loved one, maybe someone is flying to adopt, maybe someone is flying to a new job and a new life.  It fascinates me, being among these strangers.  It reminds me that I am such a small fish in a big pond.

I would love to spend a whole day flying around the country, not on one plane, but stopping in airports - because I love airports too.  Funny how you can think you've been to Charlotte because you've bought a slice of pizza there, but never breathed the outside air.  Interesting to see the advertisements showing you what that particular city assumes will entice you to leave the travel cocoon.  I wonder how long it would take me to figure out what city I'm in based on the ads alone.

I am not a business traveler, but a family flier.  I am always flying toward someone I love.  And even if I've only been away a few days, something about flying makes my heart pound for the people waiting for me in the terminal.

If you ever need to be picked up from the airport, I'm your girl.  I will also volunteer to be your travel companion.  And I will bring a cute bag and the current issue of People magazine, because that's just the way I fly.

To the clouds I say, to the clouds!!!