Experiment in Human Behavior
Holiday travel proves to be a challenge of patience, compassion, and tolerance for the human animal. The holiday security lines are a great place to start the rise of the frustration meter... It is always a challenge for the Type A personality to tolerate the "meander-er" the one in line who refuses to pay attention to the movement of the line and stands there updating their Facebook account while the gap of 50 feet continues to grow........ the people behind them begin to grow more and more irritated...... and finally the brave person taps them on the shoulder to wake them up to the fact that the line has moved on without them. I personally love the group eye rolls when the delayed group looks at each other as they begrudgingly move their luggage forward..... finally. When you finally reach the TSA agent sitting at their stool and "podium of power" to proudly reveal your boarding pass and ID.....their attitude is just the icing on the cake of the security line struggle. A little smile would go a long way TSA! Just sayin! (especially since the next step in the process is disrobing and piling your belongings into a plastic bin... only to enter the human x-ray for our safety)
Okay... we made it to the gate........ whew! It seems that this is the moment of sanctuary for most. If you have given yourself enough time to relax a bit before boarding.. you probably catch up on social network sites, respond to work emails, sip the welcome hot frothiness of your Starbucks Double Mocha-chino, and my favorite activity of all...... PEOPLE WATCHING! This is the time when most shrug off the security line frustrations and have entered the paradigm shift to their new goal of shoving their obviously HUGE carry-on into the overhead first!
Once I am on the plane... the carry-on shuffle is my favorite sporting event! I personally avoid participation in this event; I am merely a spectator. But, WOW! The determination to fit a square peg into a round hole is awesome! and...... gentlemen......... when a sweet senior citizen is trying to lift her own carry-on into the overhead.... please help her out. Don't sit there and pretend you don't see her struggling.
On my most recent flight's there were the screaming babies that everyone dreads. The flight attendants even announced the open seats available around the screaming baby for your flying pleasure...which I am sure the parents of these children really appreciated the shout out! I know this is something that we all love........... (totally sarcastic). However, I am the mother of three children and I know that there is nothing worse when you are not able to calm your child on a flight.......... ugh.. because you know at that very moment you are the most despised person on the flight. The sideways glances.. the scowls....... the deep sighs.... oh yes.. you see them all.
I learned a valuable lesson........
Travel with noise reducing headphones.......... splurge on a nice $5.00 adult beverage... sit back and relax........... because the fun starts again once you get to your destination. Disembarking... baggage claim... parking.... etc. etc. etc....
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