I took two friends to the airport this morning -- they had to call me at 5:25 am because I was late. When the phone rang, I woke up on a bed with no sheets, clutching my alarm clock. Whoops.
It was one of those early flight mornings that reminds me of every other early morning trip to the airport I've ever had -- those same gray shapes slowly sucking color from a waking sky, those same conversations lit by brake lights and street lamps, the quick stopping, uloading, hugging. The only difference was that I'm usually not the one driving away with nobody in my car. I think they're right about it being harder to say goodbye and stay than to say goodbye and go.
And now one of my favorite travelling songs:
"Money's just something you throw
Off the back of a train
Got a handful of lightening
A hat full of rain
And I know that I said
I'd never do it again
And I love you pretty baby
but I always take the long way home..."
(Norah Jones, Feels Like Home)
And now the bumper sticker I saw on the way back to the house:
"ORDAIN CATHOLIC WOMEN
or stop baptizing them!"
Hey Bob,
Heard that you are coming to Boston, MA, where the new Fifth North lives on! I'm really excited!
I had an airport club with some friends in high school. We used chat with strangers in the international terminal, bet people two cents we could run faster than the trains and beat them to their stop (we won loads of spare change), and went backwards on all the moving sidewalks.
Good times. You are so right about it being easier to go and say goodbye. For the stayers the world lacks but doesn't grow, for the leavers there's sadness but the world gets bigger and fuller.
I used your Joni Erickson Tada quote in a bible study I lead. Thanks for posting it.
The funny thing here is that, even though you don't know one another, both of you previous commenters would probably make good friends. I mean, I think running an airport club is right up Keri's alley.
Too bad security won't let people get that far without tickets anymore. I mean, I like security, but I also like betting pennies on train/foot races.
And just so everybody knows, walking backwards on moving sidewalks in overseas airports is a really good way to learn those vocab words that they don't teach you in the classroom... (Sapr**ti, Me**re, etc.)
Posted by: bob at October 11, 2005 02:29 PMBob,
Katie and I just got back from a weekend in St. Augustine (well, on Sunday, but it's been a very quick week) and we scouted out a couple of good bumper stickers for you near Flagler College:
(on a yellow ribbon sticker): Support our yellow ribbon sticker makers!
Jesus would use his godamned turn signal
And my personal fav:
God was my copilot, but then we crashed in the mountains and I had to eat him
Posted by: iserman at October 12, 2005 09:47 AMHOOHAHAHAHAHAHA! Wow. I wonder what kind of person puts that last one on their voiture?
Posted by: bob at October 12, 2005 04:35 PM