A little boy runs to his grandfather, two little girls raise up a sign that says, “mommy we love you,” and a young man waits for his girlfriend with a bouquet of flowers. Yes, I wrote recently about how I love airport arrivals. I’m always amazed at how the arrivals gate can bring back my faith in humanity.
A funny thing happens though.
You step outside of the airport – it doesn’t matter if it’s the arrivals or departure line – and it becomes mass chaos. In those few little seconds that have passed, we seem to lose our head and our perspective.
Losing their marbles
Case in point. My son dropped me off recently early on a Sunday at the Las Vegas Airport to fly home. I would’ve thought it would have been a great time to get in and out of the airport. Oh, how wrong I was. It was like the last day of school, and everyone was running like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get out of the school.
I thought I was at a giant truck rally. Push this way, push that way. Turn signals, oh my goodness, forget about them. Wait my turn, hello, what planet are you living on? It was like a huge mosh pit, but an angry one, where everyone is deliberately trying to hurt the next person.
I kept thinking of the song “Who let dawgs outs?” and the irony of the situation. One spot in the airport was so civil and happy and how the next one, could be as crazy as a bunch of wild dogs running through a park, chasing after a man with a box full of hot dogs and doggy treats.
Feeding time at the zoo
It was crazy, very much a zoo. Fortunately, we parked far away, I got out and walked the rest of the way. I’m not a frequent traveler so it could be me overreacting, but it sure feels like there needs to be a better solution.
I have no answers, just a little ranting and raving and hoping for better results the next time I have to travel to the airport!
Images by Pexels.
All the more reason why I enjoy road trips.Your experience at the airport is so very much a microcosm of life, isn’t it? Tiny pockets of love, kindness, and joy amidst the frantic crush of fear—the me-first, get-out-of-my way-mentality that seems to rule so much of the world today. It heartens me to know that as we give energy to those tiny pockets of love, they will expand and grow from a world of I-me-mine into one of me-us-ours passes. To quote the great Martin Luther King, “We shall overcome.” We just need to keep our eye on the light.
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Wise Julia. Keep our eye on the light. My mantra for the week. Ha, ha, thank you.
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Very true. I haven’t been to an airport in years and I don’t miss it. I suppose if I desperately had to take a flight somewhere, I’d manage somehow but the thought of being in that environment is extremely off-putting.
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I’m not a frequent traveler, but still enjoy it. Usually. The craziness just struck me as odd this time. Ha, ha.
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“If there were no valleys, we wouldn’t appreciate the mountains.” Like you, that kind of pandemonium gets me irritated quickly, but that quote helps me to remember that this pandemonium is very temporary and that my reprieve from it will be worthy of notice.
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Yea, peace in the chaos. I like that.
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I love the arrivals gate, too, but the charm wears off quickly in the surrounding chaos.
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The day we were at the airport . . . the charm must have runaway from the other drivers in seconds. Ha, ha, but all is well so that’s a plus.
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I find our airport much less crazy than Chicago’s airport for example and I know it well. I hope you enjoyed your time here, Brian! The airport was recently renamed after a Nevada political figure which sickens me. It will always be McCarran International to me. McCarran was an honorable military man from decades ago.
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Yes, you are so right John. I probably should have stated it really could have been any airport. The event I described happened at McCarran (Harry Reid), but I’ve experienced the same flying out of other airports. It’s three hours away from 29 Palms, but my son tends to fly out of Las Vegas instead of Palm Springs, because it’s cheaper and has more flights. I’m not a big gambler so we didn’t spend much time on the strip. It was interesting seeing a small portion of the rest of the area.
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I always encourage people to get off of the Strip and see what’s outside of the city, Brian. As you’ve seen through my photography there is so much beauty in the Mojave Desert. We, locals, ignore the Strip. I would have bought you guys lunch!
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Because it took me so long to even tolerate flying without fear I somehow have found a way to keep myself calm and just let the chaos in and around the airport happen. I have no idea how or why, but it’s like being the observer of one big sociological research project and I quite enjoy it 🙂
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A wise approach, let it roll off your back.
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I get so stressed out at the pick up or drop off at airports in Phoenix. Cars going in and out, pushing to get ahead. In Palm Springs, it was tiny airport and so quiet and civil.
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I can relate to your Palm Springs Airport experience. We flew out of there two years ago, it was great, no rush at all. Ha, ha, this time was definitely different, much more of what I expect when we pick up or drop off at Philadelphia . . . But everything went as planned so I’m good.
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I loved the Palm Springs airport and we lived less than two miles from it! Phoenix is probably more like Philadelphia.
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Now that my son has a car, trying to convince him to drive to Palm Springs for a break when he has a long weekend. Yes, lots of $$$$$ hotels, but seems like some reasonable ones too.
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He can try Airbnb’s. But there are a few reasonable hotels. We had friends in Las Vegas and it’s not a bad drive through the desert from the 15 through Cima to Joshua Tree.
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Our little local airport used to be a real easy place to drop people or pick them up. I live about a 10 minute drive from there so often get asked to do the airport run. It wasn’t too bad until the airport authority just recently decided that it needed to improve things so now, half the airport roads are closed and it’s a nightmare getting in and out.
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In the name of progress, right? Ha, ha, good luck with that.
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The best part about airports are the arrival – and reunions or starting a vacation – and after you’ve cleared check in and the security gates. Everything is as you said stress and chaos. Vegas sounds fun though!
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I’m not a great traveler and airports are crazy! It’s like running a the gantlet! Congrats on surviving the ordeal! Hugs, C
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Thanks Cheryl, they really are the worst. I love to travel, but hate airports. An odd mix! Yikes!
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