Airport

Okay, I went a wee bit artistic with Photoshop today, but I wanted to catch some of the drama of travelling.  We all do so much of it these days that it has become second nature and I thought maybe I should make it stand out a wee bit more today.  Today, as every day, I was people watching.  Person One who got "logged" in the Dr McCoy log of the day was a 14 year old schoolboy who gave us a scathing look at Jordanstown railway station because he had to step, very deliberately, over the yellow safety line to get past our suitcases.  When we moved further down the platform he jumped back like a sliver of lightening to ensure that we were able to keep to the correct side of the line; a little bit OCD and probably a little bit of a Sheldon Cooper in the making.  Second was a guy who was in the bus station whilst we were waiting to catch the express bus to Dublin airport.  He had collared some unfortunate acquaintance from the past and was lavishing him with the praise of the obsessive compulsive (two OCDs in the space of an hour!), "Sure you're a great fella', Harry, you have great manners and all, you were well brought up and everything so you were. Sure I gave up the drink 20 years ago.  Don't give in to the drink now, Harry, or the people that drag you in for a drink, they will drag you down, Harry, so they will and all.  They just want to drag you down to their level and all, so they do, stay away from the drink now Harry. Sure you're a great fella', Harry, you were well brought up and everything, sure you have great manners and all and everything...."  Third person worth mentioning was my aisle lady on the plane.  Mrs Mac always sits in the window seat whilst I sit next to her, mid row, at the mercy of whoever has booked the aisle seat.  Today it was a very gracious lady on her way to Lourdes for a pilgrimage.  She wanted to talk so I obliged as much as possible between bursts of reading a very exciting book that had some swear words in it.  I kind of tried to cover the expletives up with my bookmark lest she should notice and be offended. We discussed politics, the election, economics, the curse of patois in local French dialect, her need to go on pilgrimage to empty her head of life's detritus, the fact that she had forgotten most of her French even though she had been a French teacher, and all and everything.  I did enjoy talking with her and observing all the different people that I encountered today. I was left thinking how wonderful is the tapestry of life and how great is the joy of watching and talking to people you probably will never meet again.