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An Interesting Day at LGA

3/20/2013

8 Comments

 
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I found myself in a full power sprint to make it to my BUF gate in time.  I made it with a few minutes to spare only to find that the flight was delayed.  I amused myself prowling around the shop and found these oh-so-me sunglasses.  I decided to go get some breakfast.


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I was enjoying my vegetable omelet when I noticed a sort of handsome grey-haired politician on a full profanity-filled spitting, almost growling rant on his phone.  He was talking about this article:    http://niagara-gazette.com/local/x1533630524/Council-majority-worries-over-influence-of-Buffalo-philanthropic-groups-refuses-to-accept-funds.     I cant say that I blame him for being annoyed with this situation.  He had me laughing so hard with the insults that he was hurling in his description of the situation to the other person on the phone.  Insults so politically incorrect that I don’t feel comfortable putting them in writing.  When he completed his call, he looked up in horror to notice me blatantly staring at him, realizing that I had heard most of his conversation.  I gave him a cheer with my coffee to let him know that I “got it.”  “God Bless America!”I said. I got a nice laugh out of him. I felt like maybe I had lightened up a stressful day a bit for him. I laughed halfway to NYC thinking over his insults and hoping that I remembered them later to share with people I thought would get it.

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The time spent with my colleagues and our clients went swimmingly.  This is a substantial purchase from a client that we have been working with for over 10 years.  The clients were excited and extremely happy with their purchase. We were all feeling good about our day. 

My work day ended early and I took a car to the airport with them, laughing and joking about everything from
spittoons to chewing tobacco.  As we pulled in to the airport, our Town Car driver took the time to roll down the
window and yell at a limo driver who he felt was not following procedure making a dropoff.

“You’re a limo driver, you’re a LIMO DRIVER?”
“Yes.”
"NO, you’re a
*expletive!*  A dumb, stupid
*expletive.* “ “You’re no limo driver!”  

We all had a fabulous laugh and hugs all the way around as we went to our separate terminals.  I was alone as I
strolled in to Delta to check in. I was about 3 hours early for my flight, but that was fine with me.  I had a nice
book to read, and I was just thrilled at the success of the day.

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 I stopped in to Slip Mahoney's Irish pub and sat quietly sipping a drink,
reading my book and nibbling on an appetizer of an interesting bean-based chili with Fritos lining the middle of the bowl. My quiet time was
short-lived.  In walked a brother and sister worthy of a Saturday Night Live skit. I am guessing that they were in their mid-sixties.  The sister walked right up to a clearly gay twenty something man and put her arm around him. 

“Hey honey, ya got a girlfriend?” 
“Um,no.” 
“Do you want one?”
‘Um, its complicated,” he said.  

 If you know me for five minutes you know that at the sight of this I launched in to a loud laughing fit and made a complete spectacle of myself. 
 
Meanwhile, the brother told me about his various girlfriends and wives over the years, and about what he did and did not want in a mate.  The gay guy scampered off and the sister came over to tell me more about her brother's various ex-wives and girlfriends in alarmingly descriptive yet fascinating detail.  The sister took off in search of another twenty something. I decided it was time to relocate with some coffee.
 


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I went over to the gate armed with coffee and my book and sat down for a while.  Shortly I heard the words that every traveler dreads but are somewhat inevitable at LGA: Your flight is delayed two hours.  

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I was absolutely determined to find a way to enjoy the time imposed by this delay.  You have probably seen the massage chairs in the middle of the airport.  I was pretty skeptical about whether I could relax enough for this to work straddling a chair in the middle of chaos.I was also fairly skeptical about the skill level of the women doing the massages.  How good could an airport massage be?  The woman was about the size of a large pen. 

She sounded alarmed when she started.
 “Oh my God."
*Long pause……..*
"Oh my God. You NEED this.”  
  
She pulled the tension from my neck, back, arms, hands and head.  She beat the tar out of me.  When she was done I felt fantastic.  I kind of wanted to stay in that chair forever, but I pulled my face out of the donut hole they put it in and got reacquainted with the chaos around me. 



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Strolling a bit with my head foggy from the massage, I found that LGA Delta terminal has a new set up in the middle of the gates.  It sort of looks like a sushi bar.  There are Ipads free to use, and you can order food and drinks from those Ipads and pay right there with your credit card.  You can plug in your phone to charge too, all within full view of your gate.  I pulled up a seat.

There was a guy to my right, a young salesman that reminded me of my brother Steve when he was in
 high school.    Kind of like a Ferris Bueller-type character.  Steve is still extremely fun loving, but this guy had the over-the-top humor, gestures, and volume that most of us tone down a bit by the time we reach our thirties.  He asked about my day, and we toasted and celebrated my success. 

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To my left was a forty-something guy that reminded me of my brother Steve when he is in work mode. Steve has a pretty serious job, and he is a very formidable and tough negotiator.  I hear this guy to my left on the phone and think, “Ive got high school-college  Steve on my right and Ive got work Steve on my left.”  The guy was an attorney making a deal.I almost felt sorry for whoever he was dealing with on the phone.  When his business call was finished, he wanted to know what the cheering and clinking of glasses was about and joined in. 

“I had a successful day
too.  Its time for a party in this
little corner of LGA,” he said. 
“Work hard play hard,” he added.


 I ordered a really nice glass of wine and some avocado toast.  Avocado toast is bread with smashed avocado, chili flakes, and lot of garlic.  Oh my goodness. Heavenly. We shared stories about our jobs, our towns, our
families. The LGA Delta Ipads at this area have a feature that monitors your flight while you are sitting there. 
We all monitored our flights and were hardly phased when all three of our flights were further delayed. 
We were all having a great time until I heard my name being paged.  It turns out that as fabulous as the
whole Ipad setup is, you really cant count on them to monitor your flight.  I ran off with hurried goodbyes to my
new friends and dashed over to just barely make the flight. I was the last person to sit down.

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I was pleasantly suprised that my flight seat mate was a wonderful Canadian woman who happened to be dating someone who lives a block from my house.  Small world! 
She asked me about good places in walking distance. 
 
We exchanged information and agreed to meet at this delightful Tiki bar, at Stockmans on Transit Road some time in the summer.  
 


 

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A friend posted this Kurt Vonnegut quote on Facebook today.  I think it pretty much sums up the day.

8 Comments
Amy Morgan link
3/20/2013 11:38:44 am

What a lovely unexpected adventure! The introvert in me knows that were I in your shoes I would have had a much different time. I love how you conversed with everyone!

Reply
Michelle W link
3/20/2013 10:40:18 pm

Thank you Amy!

Reply
Mary Kunz Goldman link
3/20/2013 12:47:55 pm

This is great!!! I loved reading it. It is so you, Michelle. So restorative!!

Reply
Michelle W link
3/20/2013 10:41:48 pm

Ah MKG, you would have been right in there with me! Restorative indeed! :)

Reply
Zandria link
3/21/2013 12:46:41 am

I have NEVER had such a great experience at an airport. That's awesome! Next time I have a delay I'm going to look around for a massage, too. :)

Reply
Michelle W link
3/22/2013 12:51:55 am

Thanks Zandria! I recommend it!

Reply
Celeste J. Radel
3/22/2013 11:56:53 am

I really enjoyed reading about your latest travel adventures Michelle. You've got a gift of writing about your life's events in a fun, thought provoking, and captivating way. Great pictures too. :)))

Reply
Michelle W link
3/23/2013 12:56:14 am

Thanks so much Celeste! You are the best!

Reply



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