Out of breath, and sucking air into my mouth in huge gulps as I darted through the crowd, I nearly stumbled and fell several times.
Some people, hearing my huffing and puffing as I ran up behind them, graciously moved to one side to let me pass. Others were oblivious to anything but their cell phones. This was not the first time I had found myself running through an airport. The first time was when my son had flown out to see his grandparents. At the age of seven, he was flying by himself for the first time.
So let me give you the back story here …
Several years ago, there was a lot of hype about a new shopping mall coming to town that was going to be unlike any other. The Mall at Millenia. Even the name sounded magical. The mall happened to be located between our home and the airport. On the day I was to retrieve my son from his visit to his grandparents, I thought, “Why not make a day of it?” After all, it was a 50-mile trip to the Orlando airport. The plan was to leave early, stop for lunch, and check out the new mall since I had been looking for an excuse to make the long drive. The mall had a Tiffany’s jewelry store and a Chanel designer apparel store. I’d never been to either store in person. Little did I know that “regular” people were not allowed inside these stores. The gatekeepers at the store entrances could tell with a glance if you could afford to purchase anything or if you were just there to gawk at the price tags. I wasn’t allowed inside.
As I’m sure you can imagine, my plan for luxury browsing and a champagne lunch at the mall before heading to the airport was not a good one. It didn’t work. Of course, I left the mall later than I should have. Of course, I ran into traffic. After successfully willing myself not to get a speeding ticket as I swerved in and out of traffic, I came screeching to a stop in the passenger loading zone and sprinted inside to what had to be the furthest gate in the entire universe. I met my son, my little boy, as he sat playing with the pump on his pump-up sneakers, unaware that anything out of the ordinary was happening. I was so out of breath that I almost passed out.
This time, I was sucking huge breaths of air in through my mouth, running as fast as my legs would carry me to catch my connecting flight. This was my return flight home from a wonderful trip to see my now-adult son. The trip out had not been so wonderful. I missed my connecting flight and spent the night in the airport. I was not going to let that happen again. Amazingly, other travelers graciously moved out of my way, even making a path for me. Perhaps it was that my breathing sounded more like wheezing, and it’s possible they could hear my faint moans with each step of my arthritic knee. It didn’t matter to me. With the help of the nice couple that stepped out of the row and let me disembark the plane quickly, I was going to make it!
Even as I sat in the very last row, next to the bathroom, and between a crying baby and a teenager who was intensely playing a game on his phone, I knew that humanity was not lost.