Air Travel
Photo Credit: glassdog (Flickr.com)
6:45 AM. I’m leaving Dallas Fort-Worth. It’s colder than I expected, but that happens in the winter. My suit isn’t really made for keeping out the cool air, but my leather jacket more than compensates. I’m actually sweating as I walk through the airport. But if I take my jacket off, they’ll count it as a carry-on item. Airports are insane.
5:00 PM. Boston is cold, and covered in snow. I can’t believe how much snow I’m seeing. This isn’t even fresh snow; it happened three days ago, and all it’s been doing is blowing around from one place to the other. They had a foot; it looks like hardly any of it has melted. Sure, the roads and runways are clear, but there’s snow on every sidewalk and driveway. It’s a good thing I’m not staying overnight; I like to talk a walk at night, and I don’t think I’d be able to do it here. Even if it weren’t for the snow, the wind chill is so bad that I’d have to wear three layers of clothes just to stay warm. And I’d never think to pack for that.
9:30 PM. I’ve arrived in Chicago. It’s got snow and wind, but it’s nowhere near as bad as Boston. But the people here seem less comfortable with it; in Boston, they went about their lives. Here, they’re driving slow and wearing the wrong sorts of clothes for the weather. That’s funny. I always thought Chicago people were used to the winter weather. I’ve been there in June before and had to wear a jacket because it was so cold. But this is fresh snow, and the cab driver told me that this all just blew in after some unseasonable warmth. I guess they got caught off-guard.
6:00 PM. It was a short jaunt down to St. Louis; maybe an hour flight. But it’s amazing how much different it is down here. They got hit by the same snowstorm Chicago and Boston saw, but only got a light dusting. The people here don’t know how to drive, but in my experience, they never know how to drive in this town. My cab passed a five-car pileup on the way to my hotel downtown. I’d swear it was five fender benders in a row. That’s hardly worth calling the police about.
3:00 PM. You sort of expect snow in Denver. But there isn’t much. I’m surprised. I guess it got warm enough and dry enough that the snow started melting. It’s still cold, if you ask me, but it is currently above freezing, so I guess I shouldn’t complain too much. At least people here are used to this stuff. Down in Texas, we get snow occasionally, but never for very long. My mom moved down to Tampa, Florida a couple of years ago. She hasn’t seen snow since she got there.
10:00 AM. Finally home in Dallas. These back-to-back speaking engagements are going to kill me. I’ve got another round of them next week. It’s weird to think that over the course of a few days, I’ve been flying cross-country. Honestly, you get so used to it after awhile it feels like you’re just a few hours from home at any given moment. Everything’s pretty much the same. You never stop to think how far away you really are… just how much better home really is.
Fiction, Writing Scraps | SeanJJordan | 
January 8, 2010 12:43 am
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