I am finishing up a three day-er to Cleveland from my home base near Boston. I arrived in Cleveland yesterday morning via Charlotte (guess which airline I flew?). While I was walking through Charlotte-Douglas International Airport heading to my connecting gate, I realized why I like traveling so much. It may be a cliche, but seems to be true. It is not the destination, but the journey. And on my travels, I really enjoy meeting different people and watching people doing their thing as they move from here to there or there to here.
Let’s go through some of the interesting folks who have crossed my path on this trip.
1. Obese women waddling through Charlotte-Douglas with too short too tight shirt that did not cover up the muffin top. Obese woman was trailing three children, each of which was toting a small piece of child’s luggage. The woman turned around and saw me watching the scene and pulled her shirt down on one side, leaving the other side exposed. The struggles of flying are numerous and with three children, a parent must be stressed to the limit. I hope this lady found her way and did not suffer too much. I so wish I had a picture of this scene.
2. Here in downtown Cleveland there is a casino attached to the hotel at which I’m staying. I went over this evening to get some dinner and check out the scene. I did not, repeat, did not gamble a single dollar but saw way too many people who looked like they shouldn’t gamble either, putting more and more coins into the one-armed bandit or at least flashing their frequent gambler card against the machine that continued to take their money. The best part was that they were smiling and laughing and cheering as the wheel went round and round.
3. “I see dead people” – Today I got a behind the scenes tour of the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank. I saw the largest vault door in the world whose two hinges each weigh 72 tons but balanced to perfection so that two people have no problem moving the door. I saw two robots, named Laverne and Shirley, move around thousands or millions of dollars in the secure vault area. I also saw a $100,000 dollar bill. Guess who is on the bill? Woodrow Wilson, hence the dead people reference.
Traveling provides lets me see folks from around the country. I cannot wait to fly home tomorrow night and see who crosses my path. Travel on…
distinctlynormal 
Jessica, the wife
July 30, 2014 at 10:09 PM
My favorite parts of your travels include the following: sending Leo to time-out for punching Stella in the stomach; taking away Stella’s Harry Potter book for not listening to me; making, serving & cleaning up from 3 meals a day, plus, snacks, all alone; driving to the grocery store, the pharmacy, the bank, camp, etc. incessantly; STILL workin’ the land in the back of the house; showering & washing up the kids, reading to them and putting them to bed (all while they try to run away from me and shout “NO!”), after doing everything for them all day, and then they ask for you; and then finally falling, completely exhausted, onto the couch in the evening, only to realize I have to do laundry, make Stella’s lunch for tomorrow & clean up the kitchen.
And I get to do it all over again tomorrow…
What time does your flight get in? We’re fine…