Airports

I've been subconsciously pondering the many types of people that I observe or interact with at the airport. Since I've been traveling for work a lot lately, I've been spending far too many hours of my life in airports, and it really is quite the place to people watch. Here's a rundown of the many "types" of people that I typically see.

The important business man - comes in many forms. He can be so important that he simply cannot get off of his phone (usually in the form of a bluetooth), and some are so important that they are constantly talking about something very stressful, to the point that they need to pace back and forth nervously while talking loudly on their phones. Many of these species have clear separation anxiety when they are forced to turn off their blackberries before the plane takes off...they frantically type emails up until the last second, and resume the madness the second the wheels touch the ground. Maybe I'm just not career driven enough, but I don't understand how every interaction can be seemingly life or death.

The talker - no definition needed. You know who I'm talking about...the one who sits next to you and immediately makes small talk. Only it's not just small talk...it turns into real talk, and if you're extra lucky, it can last the whole entire plane ride. You get to hear all about her husband Bill and her son Donald. You get to hear stories about dear Lucy's wedding. From my experiences, most talkers especially love to talk about themselves, and rarely ask for input from you. Maybe that's why it's so easy for the conversation to continue on far longer than it should. Being of an unsocial, taciturn disposition (bonus points to anyone who can identify where that quote is from), I dread sitting next to these people. Would it be rude to put a sign on my forehead that says "Planning to listen to Ipod and sleep"? Yeah, I thought so.

The clueless traveler - this is the person who clearly flies about once every 5 years. He/she has no clue that a license is required, along with boarding pass at the security checkpoint. They argue with airport personnel about removing their shoes. It's news to them that they can't take their extra large Dunkin Donuts coffee through security. They have no clue how the boarding process works on their airline and constantly try to board at the incorrect times. They sometimes bring carry-on bags that are far too large to fit in the overhead bins. Overall, these people are extremely talented at driving us frequent travelers insane.

The "very late" traveler - typically a businessman. He is shocked to discover that, at 5:40 am on a Monday morning (probably the busiest time at TF Green), there's a rather long security line. He begins loudly saying that, at this rate, he'll never make his 6:05 flight to Philadelphia. He clearly feels that he should be able to skip the entire security line in order to not miss his flight. The lines of separation between the very late traveler and the important businessman can often be blurry.

I could probably write about 5 more "types" of people, but I'll end it here. I'm thankfully flying home tomorrow and I'm sure I'll find some extra inspiration at some point in my travels.