Mental Meanderings

Adventures At The Airport

Today was the day. Well for my sister it was the day she gets on a plane and flies to Europe for 7 weeks. But for me and the kids it was our "Adventure At The Airport". The whole reason we REALLY went there was to spend some time watching the planes coming and going. It was really quite a show too.

The kids loved it. The noise, the smell, the lights, the speed. Planes would cruise in from the sky, squeel to a stop and then taxi about on the runway. There were even two big US Air Force planes sitting out on the tarmac although I've no idea why. Perhaps just having a yap with their Perth International buddies. *chuckles* Tax dollars hard at work as always.

It was interesting watching the planes do their thing. They're loud, a roaring kind of loud that obliterates all other noise and makes you feel like you've been sucked into the engines. From the observation deck you can smell the gas fumes. It makes me think you just wouldn't want to light a match anywhere near the place without risking blowing up the whole airport.

I've always loved the airport and wish I could just hang out there more often. I imagine it would be a fantastic place to write. When I was younger I used to hang out at train stations (instead of going to school) and people watched from there. Trains have that sense of commute, the busy, rushed turnover of hundreds of people going their own way. But the airport is heightened even more. The people getting on a plane aren't going to work, they're travelling all around the world.

Everyone has their own stories and I like to imagine the lives of all those people. The pilots, leaving their families every day to fly from one side of the world to the other. The passengers, young women going abroad for a European adventure like my sister, well dressed men travelling for business, school children leaving for an adventure and experience as education, families exploring the world together.

As we were waiting to check my sisters luggage there was a family in front of us. They had a well worn suitcase and ragged backpacks. The kids waited patiently with an air of nonchalence and the parents were calm and collected. It was clear this family had done airports before. They weren't rich but I imagined they really lived as they got to see the world.

The children were worn, tired, as if they'd done this so often it just wasn't fun anymore. I can't understand that emotion. I've never flown. I've never been outside of my home state let alone this beautiful country. I'm the daughter of a man who lives for travel and have the travel bug born into me but never had the opportunity to give it its freedom. I can't understand how anyone could lose the sense of wonder at traversing oceans, of spanning countries. The world is a very large place, it would be impossible to explore every inch of it. I can't imagine feeling no wonder at that.

Everyone has a story at the airport. Even the planes. Planes and jets going up, coming down. Luggage going on, coming off. I imagine the lives of everyone there. What kind of job is it to be the man who sits out for hours with orange lights flashing on the runway prepared to deal with any landing emergency. There hasn't been a crash in so long but I'm sure they have other opportunities to change the monotony of their day.

The kids loved the adventure as much as I did and I wish I could take them to visit more often. Other than the overpriced food, the cost of driving so far, and the cost of parking, it's an inexpensive day out. It's cheaper than taking my rug rats to the movies. Of course, I can't deny my anxiety levels rose when my mind started wandering to me being the one boarding the plane, with two kids, later this year. *shudders* Scary! *chuckles*