hotlanta

I am spending a few hours this morning in the Atlanta airport enroute to a former student’s wedding, a first for me (a student’s wedding, not the Atlanta airport).

My drive to Denver was a white-knuckle experience, as it not only rained, but poured, for the majority of my travels from Lander. Big trucks, heavy rain, and trying to make a red eye flight made for a rather tired me by the time I arrived at the airport. It was nice to get to Denver and give over my semblance of control to someone else, in this case the airline. The flight was packed, not a seat to be had. Even so, somehow I ended up in an exit row, which seemed a bit unnecessary for 5’2’’ me.

This flight was one of the more peaceful I can remember. Most passengers slept, or attempted to, all children were quiet, and there were few announcements by the airline staff, owing perhaps to the smooth weather we experienced. I only awoke a few times, and was only fully awake when I felt the plane’s wheels go down. Debarking the plane was also a calm experience. No one was rushed—we landed about 5:30 a.m. and certainly no one was running to make a connection—and all passengers took their turn getting off the plane, no one made the common “hurry up” comment. It was a nice to begin the morning with a group of calm passengers even if most of us were working on little sleep.

Thus I am in Atlanta, which has awoken and is bustling with people, now waiting to board my flight and hoping I can sneak in another nap as I head north to Virginia.

Good morning to you all and to the man who just rode by me on a Segway.