Skip to main content

Airports: The Gateways to Everywhere

Have you ever gotten the feeling when traveling through an airport that you're somehow in between here and there in the world? I have been traveling a lot over the past five years and I've seen my share of airports. I feel like no matter how big or small, busy or slow the airport is, once you go through the process of getting your ticket, checking your bags, and going through the security checkpoint, you somehow enter into an alternate reality where everyone is transient and nobody is settled.

The strangest experience, then, for me came today. I'm staying at the Westin Detroit, which is attached to the DTW airport. One of the "perks" to staying at the airport hotel is that you can get a pass from the local police and TSA to enter the airport and utilize the shops and restaurants in the terminal. My brother-in-law flew through Detroit on his way to a business trip, so I took advantage of this service to meet him at his gate and walk with him to his connection. It was the first time that I went into an airport terminal with no destination in mind, no bags, no intention to enter through one of the portals that conduct folks to their home, work, or leisure locations.

The feeling inside of me was odd, and I must admit I had a sense of longing. Living on the road as much as I do, and this current trip is four-weeks long, I often miss home, or even the concept of home! I thought I'd travel less after finishing my stint as an auditor, but I ended up traveling more last year! For the first time in my life I have status at two major hotel chains and one major airline group. It's nice to have those things when you're traveling, but not so great having to travel as much as one does to earn them.

It was nice entering into "the between" space to see my brother-in-law, a friendly and familiar face, but I'm glad that the next time I'm there, it'll be to head home (...for two days...). At least my next trip will be by car, but I'll still be using my Starwood status to get a nice accommodation while I'm away. :-)

Happy travels!


M@
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Finally a member of a local community!

T oday I was officially welcomed into the St. Paul's of Norwalk family as a part of a special Rite conducted at the 11AM service. When I first started going to this church in my new Connecticut community six months ago, I was almost terrified to think about becoming an official member of a religious organization. Over the course of these past several months, I've really fallen in love with the building, the people, and the sense of closeness that they all have. I had an "ah-hah" moment today: the people there actually WANT to be there more than just going out of a sense of obligation. It's refreshing and comforting. It's also nice that this particular parish community welcomes people from ALL walks of life, and even has LGBT clergy people. How wonderful to be in a place that so emmulates what I hope the future of our whole world ends up being: concerned with who we ARE inside instead of how we express it outside. Thanks St. Paul's! It's nice to have a ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reflections from a crazy summer

Y ou would think that I'd blog more here since I do so much traveling, but I guess it's a testimony to how pervasive Facebook has become in my life. In any event, I'm writing on layover in Seoul Korea's Incheon International Airport after having spent the past two months bouncing around the world. Peaked your curiosity have I? I'll try to be somewhat breif and give you the highlights here: July 5-August 3 - Detroit, MI: The day after celebrating July 4th with my friends in CT, I moved out to Detroit to greet and help educate 101 of my program's finest new recruits at our advancd technology center. This is a highlight of my current job that I look forward to twice a year. I really enjoy meeting with these young men and women who are embarking on their IT careers having just recently completed their university studies. While I have instructors that do the heavy lifting, teaching them about programming languages, presentation and communication skills, and busine...
Post a Comment
Read more

Los Angeles Pride Revelations

F lying back from an outstanding weekend in Los Angeles where I spent the weekend visiting friends and celebrating Pride, I'm finding myself full of wonder and a pent-up desire to live in a place where being out, open, and able to live a "normal" life is second nature (doesn't sound too unreasonable, eh?). There are few cities in the world today that actually afford this possibility to its citizens, and even they have certain restrictions due to state or federal laws (in whichever country they're in). L.A., however, has an incredible appeal from its west-coast lifestyle, proximity to Tinsel Town, and its people's history of civil demonstrations for equal rights. The energy there is completely unique. Over the past three-and-a-half days I was overwhelmed with parties; meeting new, attractive guys; and experiencing L.A.'s Pride parade and festival. Thanks to my friends Jayzen Patria, Joe Keenan, and Logan Grizzel, I felt like a VIP (and even had VIP access t...
Post a Comment
Read more