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indigo_rose99Once upon a time...
It was a 2.5 hour drive to the airport. I always threw a pillow and a blanket in the back seat and would sleep for the first hour. My parents would argue the last hour on how to find the airport, my mother with the map and my father insisting that he knew the way.
We would park and walk inside the airport. Checking in my luggage always took forever. I never knew which of the massive stack of papers that came with my ticket in the mail that they actually wanted, so I would just hand them the whole stack. I do not think anyone ever asked me for ID... Which was good, because my driver's license was several years in the future.
Security lines were quick, though my mother's metal covered bones always seemed to fluster airline security. I would just put my two carry on bags on the conveyor belt with my purse, pull my pocket knives from my trench coat and drop them in a bucket. Sometimes a security person would hand me my small bucket of knives when I was through the scanner.
My carry on bags always dragged at my shoulders, but my father often carried them to the gate for me. My parents would wait with me until my row was called, then hug and wave me off. My mother often told me later that they would watch through the window as my plane took off.
Can you count what has changed?
1 I drive myself to the airport. 2 GPS? 3 No more parents. 4 No easy parking near the airport. 5 I do not check luggage if I can possibly help it. 6 I print out boarding passes in advance or print from a machine at the airport. No humans. 7 ID is checked at ticket counter and security. 8 Must take off coat at security. 9 No knives allowed through security. 10 Must take off shoes at security. 11 Security people are power mad and not helpful. 12 Must show boarding pass at security. 13 Only people with tickets get through security. 14 All of my carry on luggage has wheels. 15 Back then it was two carry ons and a personal item on the plane. 16 This doesn't even count the smoking on the plane then or lack of decent meals on planes now.
It was a 2.5 hour drive to the airport. I always threw a pillow and a blanket in the back seat and would sleep for the first hour. My parents would argue the last hour on how to find the airport, my mother with the map and my father insisting that he knew the way.
We would park and walk inside the airport. Checking in my luggage always took forever. I never knew which of the massive stack of papers that came with my ticket in the mail that they actually wanted, so I would just hand them the whole stack. I do not think anyone ever asked me for ID... Which was good, because my driver's license was several years in the future.
Security lines were quick, though my mother's metal covered bones always seemed to fluster airline security. I would just put my two carry on bags on the conveyor belt with my purse, pull my pocket knives from my trench coat and drop them in a bucket. Sometimes a security person would hand me my small bucket of knives when I was through the scanner.
My carry on bags always dragged at my shoulders, but my father often carried them to the gate for me. My parents would wait with me until my row was called, then hug and wave me off. My mother often told me later that they would watch through the window as my plane took off.
Can you count what has changed?
1 I drive myself to the airport. 2 GPS? 3 No more parents. 4 No easy parking near the airport. 5 I do not check luggage if I can possibly help it. 6 I print out boarding passes in advance or print from a machine at the airport. No humans. 7 ID is checked at ticket counter and security. 8 Must take off coat at security. 9 No knives allowed through security. 10 Must take off shoes at security. 11 Security people are power mad and not helpful. 12 Must show boarding pass at security. 13 Only people with tickets get through security. 14 All of my carry on luggage has wheels. 15 Back then it was two carry ons and a personal item on the plane. 16 This doesn't even count the smoking on the plane then or lack of decent meals on planes now.
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no subject
Date: 2008-11-11 07:13 pm (UTC)