a minor rant, fueled by some level of tiredness
(or "sleepeybear's request for the infrequent, not-so-bright traveler)
Okay, okay...I realize that, compared to the average person, I travel a lot. Perhaps excessively. And I try very hard to have patience with other travelers who may not be quite as familiar as I am with the rules and yes, common courtesy of air travel. But there are two things that will always bug me...I guess because they seem like such simple concepts.
First, those people who don't pay attention while they're standing in line to go through the security gates. Because if they did pay attention, they'd know ahead of time to remove their laptops from their bags, and be prepared to take off their shoes, and put those giant metal belt buckles through the x-ray machine. They wouldn't need to be told all of these things as they're trying to walk through the security machine, and then hold up the entire line while they fumble to do all of that at the very last minute. Even worse are the frequently-traveled businessmen who for some reason think their belt will make it through security even though it hasn't on probably the last dozen times they tried. Seriously...get a clue and pay attention. And for the older woman who didn't understand why she couldn't bring her normal-sized toothpaste tube with her in her carry-on...watch the news once in a while, listen to the announcements being made while you're in line, and don't give the security people a hard time about it. They don't make the rules, they just enforce them.
Second, and more frustrating - the people who absolutely must stand thisclose to the baggage claim carousel. Because guess what?! There are more than 100 other people who are also looking for their bags on the carousel...and you standing in front of the rest of us, so that we can't see what bags are coming out, is just plain annoying. And if you absolutely insist on doing this, don't give me a dirty look when I politely say, "Excuse me" as I try to reach through your impenetrable shield to grab my bag, which just happened to come out before yours. Please get out of my way.
These don't seem unreasonable, do they?
Where I am: Tucson, AZ
What I'm reading: the latest edition of Yoga Journal magazine
Okay, okay...I realize that, compared to the average person, I travel a lot. Perhaps excessively. And I try very hard to have patience with other travelers who may not be quite as familiar as I am with the rules and yes, common courtesy of air travel. But there are two things that will always bug me...I guess because they seem like such simple concepts.
First, those people who don't pay attention while they're standing in line to go through the security gates. Because if they did pay attention, they'd know ahead of time to remove their laptops from their bags, and be prepared to take off their shoes, and put those giant metal belt buckles through the x-ray machine. They wouldn't need to be told all of these things as they're trying to walk through the security machine, and then hold up the entire line while they fumble to do all of that at the very last minute. Even worse are the frequently-traveled businessmen who for some reason think their belt will make it through security even though it hasn't on probably the last dozen times they tried. Seriously...get a clue and pay attention. And for the older woman who didn't understand why she couldn't bring her normal-sized toothpaste tube with her in her carry-on...watch the news once in a while, listen to the announcements being made while you're in line, and don't give the security people a hard time about it. They don't make the rules, they just enforce them.
Second, and more frustrating - the people who absolutely must stand thisclose to the baggage claim carousel. Because guess what?! There are more than 100 other people who are also looking for their bags on the carousel...and you standing in front of the rest of us, so that we can't see what bags are coming out, is just plain annoying. And if you absolutely insist on doing this, don't give me a dirty look when I politely say, "Excuse me" as I try to reach through your impenetrable shield to grab my bag, which just happened to come out before yours. Please get out of my way.
These don't seem unreasonable, do they?
Where I am: Tucson, AZ
What I'm reading: the latest edition of Yoga Journal magazine
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