The People You Meet

June 20, 2017

I haven't been here for a while, most of my blogging attention has been focused on my travel blog (The Erudite Tourist) and this space has been a bit neglected. 

I tend to write things here that I'd like to say, but might not be inclined (for whatever reason) to broadcast on more interactive social media platforms. If someone happens to stumble upon my writings here then great, but if not I'm happy for them to be out there if and when they are discovered. In other words, I'm not necessarily looking for feedback, but if it comes, OK. This was written on June 20, 2017, but I never got around to publishing, so here it is.

A promising start to the trip

I'm currently sitting in the Charlotte, NC airport, waiting for my flight to London which is scheduled to depart in 7.5 hours.

I was supposed to arrive in London almost 11 hours ago, but Mother Nature decided to unleash her fury on the Eastern United States yesterday and the air traffic system ground to a screeching halt.

A Few Thunderstorms

So here I sit in the American Admiral's Club (thanks to a Business Class ticket) sipping a Cuba Libre, reflecting on any number of topics, but mostly thinking about people and specifically how we deal with random encounters and connect with others. Given the current socio-political climate in the country this has been a common topic of late, so it certainly makes sense. 

Thanks (?) to Mother Nature I've had several encounters in the last 24 hours and I'll list them here with some thoughts on each. For some reason I've been more engaging than usual, a bit by design but mostly due to circumstance.

• The lady sitting behind me on the first leg who pushed everyone out of her way to de-plane when we arrived is completely forgettable. Just your average inconsiderate traveler. Not a good experience.
• The gentleman that I walked with down the concourse during my layover, sharing observations on the need for a more efficient way to get people from the end of Concourse E up to the Concourse D walkway in Charlotte. They've added a tremendous number of gates to the E concourse over the years but haven't made any provision to expand the choke point at the escalators, creating quite a mess at times.
• The lady with four kids who pushed in front of me as we waited to board the flight to JFK. Her rudeness would only increase.
• Colin, my seat-mate on AA 1972 (or at least the attempt at such.) His phone was dying so I pulled out my booster battery (Amazon owes me a commission if he ever figures out how to get one shipped to one of his addresses.) We chatted off and on for hours, sharing anecdotes and jokes of the struggles of modern air travel. He was just trying to get home.
• Colin's co-worker, who sat behind us and across the aisle. Offering witty retorts and joining in the banter as we sat and waited, and waited and sat.
• The guy behind us, another New Yorker, who was generally non-plussed and also lighthearted about our shared misery.
• The lady across the aisle from me, from Raleigh, also trying to get to London, who works in the biomedical field. She was on a flight from RDU the previous evening which was cancelled due to mechanical issues. A friend of mine was also on that flight, trying to get to Stockholm, he ended up making it, albeit 24 hours late as well. An experienced traveler, she was going with the flow and hoping for the best. Her flight from JFK to LHR was also delayed, but the cancellation finished things off.
• The flight attendant "up front" for the adventure was just a good guy. He chatted and joked with us as well as sharing whatever information he had available. At every twist and turn he maintained his sense of humor and communicated a very strong sense of "we're all in this together." This guy was the epitome of what it takes to keep passengers on an even keel in an unfortunate situation.
• Captain O'Toole (a name I won't soon forget, since he was on the PA about every 98 seconds giving us updates as he received them from various sources.) He gave us the best he had and stood at the cockpit door every time the jetway was connected, chatting and joking with passengers. Based on his demeanor I'd fly with him any time - he came across as a real pilot's pilot.
• The young lady from France who is a member of the USC track team who stood in line with me waiting to be rebooked. I think I was on Face-Time with her boyfriend more than she was, as she was holding her phone at an odd angle. I hope she made it to Paris with minimal hassle. She was helped quickly by the agent at the customer service counter, so I think she ended up in good shape.
• The group in front of me in line, trying to get to Italy and working the phones to sort things out with Travelocity and the other airline. Apparently they ended up with a refund from AA, not sure how things ended up with their second flight. Lesson learned - make sure you have plenty of padding if you're trying to glue together your own trip with different airlines.
• Kim, at the American Airlines Customer Service Counter on C Concourse last night. She was cranking people through the system and had me rebooked in minutes after I finally made it to the front of the line. Despite the crushing number of passengers she kept a smile on her face and did everything she possibly could to say "yes" if at all possible.
• Jackson, my Ghanaian Uber driver, who provided a clean, safe ride and a fantastic conversation about his country. I have other friends with connections to Ghana, so it was easy for us to find a connection.
• The staff at the Hilton City Center in Charlotte. Due to fatigue and lack of attention I didn't catch any names, but everyone was amazing, from check-in to check-out. The young man who delivered toiletries to my room spoke very little English, but was a delight to interact with and went above and beyond to make sure I had what I needed.
• Donald, the Uber driver who took me back to the airport. Another clean, safe ride with good conversation. Never found out when his son played golf for NCSU, but hope that turned out well for him!
• The TSA agents in the Pre-Check line were friendly and engaging. I think the size of the airport and volume of passengers may contribute to their generally superior demeanor. No screaming instructions (for either line) and no condecension was offered that I heard, quite unusual given the varied experience level among travelers.
• My friend Paul, who happened to be connecting through Charlotte on his way to Newark. By chance I saw his post on Facebook and went to visit his gate. We were able to chat for a good thirty minutes and that alone almost made the whole delay worth it. It definitely made the day much more tolerable!
• The grandparents from Kansas with their 4 year old "Cars" fan on their way home from Disney who had their flight cancelled last night. They made me realize that yes, I am old enough to be a grandparent, even if I still see myself as a kid sometimes. Now I'm pretty sure that the reason grandparents are so crazy over grandkids is because it gives them an excuse to be young and goofy again. It seems to be a reward for having to be more serious while raising your own kids.
• The former Montessori teacher who spoke so softly that I never figured out where she was going (I think she was also going to Kansas, but not sure.) She's been to London a few times and has a relative who married a Scot and lived in the UK for a while.
• The family from Columbia with the toddler who was too cute for words. With a mother who speaks at least four languages other than English and a father who speaks at least three more he's destined to be a polyglot.
• The lady from California, who was nice enough to recite not only her SSN and personal details, but also her credit card information, all while sitting in a large room surrounded by countless others. How does identity theft happen? Just like this...
• The arms dealer who sat across from me talking loudly on his phone so everyone could hear how important he was. I quickly located him on the internet (luggage tags and stickers on laptops can divulge a lot of information that Google can turn in to actionable intelligence.)
• The staff in the American Airlines Admiral's Club who made sure I was comfortable during my protracted wait. They checked on me "just enough" without being overbearing, and each time the snacks were updated they gave me a rundown. Top tier, all the way.

Finally Leaving Charlotte

I got to London 24 hours late, with no luggage. Somehow it made it to JFK without me, but before my flight from CLT-JFK was even cancelled, then had to catch up to me in London. Yes, it defies logic...