Last week I had a three hour layover at the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport. After a lunch, perusing the bookstores and a couple rides around on the tram, there was nothing to do but walk around. In Terminal E I noticed a small room designated as an airport chapel. A place for travelers to stop and think and pray. Just […]

“Anyone sitting here?”, I asked the lady. “No.” She pulled her arms in a bit and gathered her purse closer to her. Thanks to the “print your boarding pass the day before” option at Southwest Airlines I was in the “A” group. Which means I was at the front of the cattle call free for all […]

The Southwest Airlines flight attendant leaned against the seat and, in a low “we don’t want the passengers to hear” voice, said to her co-worker, “That was really bad. I’m nauseous.” We were on the ground in Albuquerque last Monday night, waiting for passengers to board for the next leg to Phoenix. A few minutes earlier we were in […]

Spring 1998. A 2:30 Friday afternoon flight from Phoenix to Los Angeles, the flight taken by many business people trying to get home for the weekend.   I’m headed to California to visit Charlie, an old college friend. As you probably know, there are no reserved seats on Southwest Airlines. You show up for the […]

It was relatively quiet for a late afternoon at the Omaha airport. I was waiting out a two hour layover, pondering the price of a Diet Coke and cookie I had just purchased. “$5.80? Pardon me, miss, but is there a major league baseball game going on behind this counter?” She gave me an “I […]

Several years ago I was in the Minneapolis airport waiting out a flight delay that was lasting well into the evening. You can only fill the time so many ways. After I’d eaten dinner and browsed the newsstand I found a seat and pulled out a book to read. An elderly woman took a seat […]