Temporary Friend

He was a nice guy. His name tag read: "Sam", but I couldn't pronounce his actual name, the one he gave when I asked before noticing the name tag. He rushed me towards the end of the covered sidewalk to a small opening in the concrete wall labeled ‘N’, pushing me through and saying “go, go!” with a thick Cuban accent.

I had landed only moments before and rushed from gate D11 to gate D60 of what felt like the longest airport ever to find a tiny plane with 33 people waiting for passenger number 34. The kind of plane that, as comedian John Mulaney says “Wouldn't even make the news if it were to crash”.

It’s been a rushed morning, but I certainly can’t complain. I've had a good coffee and a small breakfast sandwich. The flight from Tampa to Miami took 39 minutes, almost the shortest flight I've ever taken.

On that flight I sat next to a young lady, Ruby, who was traveling alone. She told her mom on the

phone that she was sitting next to the nice man who showed them how to use their phones as a boarding pass to save paper, and that he would be her temporary friend. Thanks kid.

In stark contrast to the last time I decided to write about my morning flights, this morning has been great. No coke-heads or video game characters, just smiling people and good flights. It’s all a bit weird in that way, I've never had good things to say about air travel until today.

Happy Friday,
Austin