I've been to the airport a few times in the last month (to Vegas, San Jose and San Jose). I'll fly again next month as Amanda and I head to Indiana for her 10 year class reunion (gasp!), but that's another story.
You can't help but people-watch at the airport. You can't. Most of the time you're at the airport you're stuck and have nothing better to do. You're in the security line. You people-watch. You're waiting at the gate. You people-watch.
I saw a few funny people at the airport today.
Lost Backpacker. I think he was European. Maybe German. He could have been from Colorado though. All I know was that this dude was dirty and looked lost. He'd been on the road for at least a month. You could tell by the lack of hygiene. Still, he looked like he was on an adventure. His backpack was practically ripping at the seam. I was jealous. I missed the thrill of diving into a foreign city and figuring it out. I need a backpacking trip, soon.
Old Man Grumpy. He was just ahead of me in the security line. He walked through the scanner and set off the alarm. Old Man Grumpy was at least twice as old as the 30-something guard who asked him to turn around, remove his belt and walk through the scanner again. Again he set off the alarm. He was escorted to the screening mat with wife and granddaughter in tow. The guard used the wand and found something on every limb. Old Man Grumpy couldn't understand why he had to take off a pin and why he couldn't wear a watch. His granddaughter spoke to him like a toddler as she explained why he had to remove his tie clip. He had reason to be grumpy. It was all too, unnecessarily complicated.
Tech Nerd. He jumped up to the security line and pulled out three bins. Why does one person need three bins? He put his shoes, wallet and phones (two!) in one of the bins with his backpack. He took out of the backpack a laptop, and then another. This guy was double-fisting phones and computers. He was careful handling the equipment, which contrasted the behavior of the security guards. He looked proudly at his array of gadgets, framed by the plastic bins, like they were his children. Who needs to carry all of this technology while traveling? Me.