The Biggie

It’s almost 12:00 PM and I’m waiting at the gate for my flight to Cleveland. It seems like a rather full flight. Up ahead a young couple is traveling with their very young infant with them. Earlier, it was screeching. Ugh. Please don’t let me have to sit close to them….

It’s now 2:46 Pm. I’m in Cleveland. I have a 2-hour layover. The “Express Jet” flight from Philly was fine, though quite cramped. I forget how “big” I am until I try to squeeze myself into a space made for someone 5 feet 8 and under. I’m 6 feet 5 and I weigh 230 pounds. I have a large muscular frame – sort of like a football player I guess. So, I basically feel as if I just flew a clown=car through the air. However, I am now in a “sports bar” enjoying a “biggie” beer and have just this second had my lunch dropped off.

OK, so now it’s 3:26 in the afternoon. My sandwich, the “French Dip” was disappointing as all airport food usually is. The beer was tasty, but overpriced – almost 7 bucks for the “biggie”. The only thing that I can really connect to the word Dip would be the gum-chewing waitress. A zombie with the decent body of a 20-year-old young lady would have worked equally as well. When I was waiting for the gum chewer to bring me my check, a young very cute fellow in a wheel chair was trying to get seated at the table next to me. His wheel became stuck on the leg of one of the metal chairs and absolutely no one seemed interested in helping him. God, how weird, just as I was typing this, he just wheeled by me and gave me a knowledgeable look of some sort on his way to who knows where. That may make more sense once I finish the story. So, no one was helping him and he seemed somewhat sheepish to ask for help, he just kept backing back and forth into the same chair. So, I finally stand up, look him dead in the eye and say, “So you need help with this?”

He gave me a knowing look then as well. Though the only words that came out of his mouth were “uh huh”. I mean, this guy can’t be any older than 20. It was one of those strange moments when your eyes lock with a total stranger for a moment and there is some kind of silent communication exchanged. I could feel that he was thankful that I helped him, but also somewhat taken aback. He didn’t thank me vocally, just with his eyes. He did again just as he passed by 5 minutes ago.

So, here is the photo that took shortly after I began this part of this post. Its Continental gate D9 here at the Cleveland airport. Technology still amazes me…