Fully vaccinated and eager to get back in to the swing of things we finally were back at it again. Flying, that is. We did miss it. It wasn’t quite as painful as I thought it would be. All the safety precautions were in fact a welcome change. Airports and planes have always been a hot bed for germs even before the pandemic. And so the extra vigilance and rules I suspect are what most parents and germaphobes felt good about.
I won’t say it’s all foolproof. What is anymore? I understand we have to eat but when we can take off masks while eating and drinking it feels like it defeats the purpose. I guess something better than nothing is the rationale.
People watching and listening to snatches of conversation is still just as entertaining. Those people who like to talk aloud about their state of affairs or whatever is happening in their life – they are still aplenty – 2 hrs delayed tsk tsk he says to himself – no earbuds, I checked. He was legit talking to himself or to anyone who may listen. The lady who sat next to me told the air a few inches in front of her twice that’s it very hot and sighed loudly a number of times. I pulled on my mask tighter. She also had no AirPods. I know because I could heat her youtube videos aloud. She also rammed her cabin bag under the seat almost sledgehammering my door in the process without as much as a glance askance. She was too busy airing literally her grievances out loud to the Gods on the plane. They must have been so bored through covid if they were alone. She had bright white pink fingernails and dark curly black hair and tonnes of bangles.
Some people, pandemic or not are still as disgusting and rude as ever. But they’re also fun and wonderful. The two little kids who had to wave and say hi to everyone as they went to their seats with their baby toting mom rolling her eyes. Of course I was the one rolling mine when my kids argued about everything under the sun throughout the trip. I forgot what joy it is to travel with kids. Everything under the sun is a point of contention and hot debate. Which cabin bag they to roll, whose turn it was. My younger one decided to say please for a good hour in the hopes that the older would break and give in. Her sister didn’t break so she moved on to other annoyances.
And then it was about who sat in which seat – parents had to swap and who walked on which side of which parent and so on and so forth. But someone else sitting where we were thought my kids’ relentless arguments over ridiculous things was plenty amusing. I’m glad someone enjoyed the entertainment they doled out non-stop.
People are social creatures and it was evident in the airports where we saw folks still loved chatting up strangers. I observed the beautiful artwork and mosaics on the floor of the airports. And the bookstores. I still can’t help but buy books at airports. Several stores were still closed however so book stores were scarce. We needed fleece blankets and I was reminded of the need for warmth – with socks, sweaters and eye masks on the cold planes. Lots of sanitizer stations were setup around but some weren’t filled. This was in stark contrast at the Cedar Rapids airport, a smaller airport where temperature checks were done for everyone and they divided people into wide lines. It was a contrast to the bigger busier airports. There were many empty sterile lounges and aisles which makes sense as it was smaller and easier to manage. Airport food though, is still airport food.
One other significant improvement I saw was that ‘No touch’ was instituted in most bathrooms. I think masks should be the thing going forward. Also the protocol once you settle in to your seat was to offer sanitizer wipes to wipe down your surroundings. I’m not sure how safe we are really. We’re back to being packed like sardines at the busier airports so who knows but at the very least it’s improved a few things which will hopefully become mainstay.
