the airport is the dreariest of places. how better defined is a whole class of citizens then by its modes of transportation. the model of american corporate snobbishness stands solemn and sterile above the woody plains of raleigh durham, north carolina. without a motion, without emotion, without a soul for itself.
thats not to say that the airport has no soul. the airport would be little more than the somber halls of columbine save for the throngs and throngs of soulful people passing through the doors and gates every hour of everyday. endless navy blue polyester employees work endlessly to help the people of the world keep on keeping on and get to where theyre going. on a steady diet of humanity's emotion, the airport stays alive.
at raleigh-durham, the levels in the parking decks are connected story to story by these spinning ramps. going further up the spiral whisks you away to the cubicle casablanca, complete with elevators and moving floors. further down the spiral and you leave a few dollars behind. but oh, when youre the only one in the car, at the bottom of the spiral, theres a lot more you leave behind.
today, i went with my best friend to the airport. we went to the ticket counter to check his luggage, and i watched him get on a plane heading for london, england.
with a one way ticket.
and somewhere between the first metal detector and the gate it occured to me that i very well may never see him again. he got moved up to an earlier flight to give him a full three hours to make his connection, the lady at the counter assured us. all around it was a sad affair.
life is miserable, when you're dealing with the physical form
is everything thats invisible gone?
and when it was time to walk into the sunset, we gave each other hugs and handpounds. he didnt say a word to me, and i couldnt say a word to him. all that needed saying was said and the deed was done. and for an instant, time stopped and the world stood still. to say it was an emotional moment would be two tears in an atlantic ocean of moments. it was perfect.
best of luck to you, mate.
