People Watching

Flying back to Seattle today. I have a long layover in Minneapolis, so I'm getting an opportunity to do something I love. People watching. My first memory of this is sitting with my dad on the beach in the fall. They'd pushed the sand up into big dunes for the winter. The beach isn't as busy, but it's my favorite time at the beach. It's cooler, there aren't as many people, and it seems more peaceful to me. It's also the time when some interesting people come to the beach. My first experience with people watching was complete.

Flying always leads to some entertaining times people watching. So far, a couple of stories are standing out.

First, in the restroom, with a mom and her daughter in the 2 stalls next to mine. The girl is screaming at her mom because the toilet paper is apparently stuck in the holder and she can't get any out. The mom is telling her to hold on. The girl keeps screaming, and the mom keeps telling her to hold on until she's finished. Then, the screaming ceases. The girl picked up the toilet paper scraps from the floor, and then told her mom that she didn't need help anymore.

Now, I'm sitting in the airport, drawing all sorts of looks and comments as people see my cat sitting next to me in the concourse. It's very entertaining. Traveling with animals in tow has drawn some interesting comments, looks, etc. The couple sitting next to me on this last flight were enthralled with my cat and even more amazed that I had a dog along. The woman was also apparently in the restroom with me, as she kept telling me that she thought she heard a cat meowing, but couldn't believe there'd be one there. A family of 4 just came up and petted my cat through her carrier. The little boy told me all about his gray kitty at home that would grow up to be just like mine.

Did you know that there's a bike cop in the airport? I've never seen a bike cop inside an airport before. He keeps riding past, on the carpet, weaving in and out of the masses.

And, to clear up some alarm and misunderstanding regarding the ER topic from the last post...First, my dad is fine. No need to worry. The misunderstanding is regarding my last ER visit with my parents prior to this last excursion. That's either when I broke my wrist or passed out from dehydration. I've been to the ER on my own since. Twice, I think, now that I'm thinking about. Once 3 years ago for abdominal pain in which I learned first hand the wonders of lidocaine and once a couple of months ago for accidental exposure at work in which I got trach secretions in my eye. Say it with me, people...Nasty.

Good things can happen in ER visits, and that will be a story for another time...