Tom Forman

      Seriously, do airports really think they have some authority over every day life as we know it? Who can really decide if you are late for a flight or not? Just because you are 4 minutes late for checking into a flight should that really mean that you can’t get on that flight? Should it mean that you have to sit, waiting in an airport, for an extra 3 hours waiting for the next flight? 4 minutes turns into 3 hours? You bet! Thats how it works!

     Suddenly I find myself with about 3 hours to spare. Just because I decided to trade in my four minutes for a 3 hour wait in incredibly uncomfortable wicker chair with a 110v outlet barely within reach to charge my cell phone.  It almost makes me wish I was going somewhe special.  It would kind of make it worth the wait,  instead I am simply headed home.  You could argue that if someone were to spend 5 weeks in the middle of nowhere that the first thing on their mind would be to get home.  Apparently that’s not at the begining of my agenda since I hit that pesky snooze button multiple times before I actually made the crawl out of a nice warm bed into the brisk morning air trying to make up the 4 minutes I was lagging.

      A lot of people can’t fully comprehend what I am talking about, or going through right now.  Thats okay, I can put it into a simple perspective for you.  Everyone, including me, LOVES a vacation. Most of us, however can handle our 2 weeks that the majority of worplaces now offer.  Two weeks offers us ample time to escape from the “everyday grind” yet is not long enough to get “home sick”.  I can guarantee that if everybody in todays society had 5 weeks off a./ not very much work would get done and b./ a lot morenpeople would be spending the majority of their vacation at home with whats familiar and closest to their heart.  Now that I have you sitting there wondering what the heck I am talking about and how all of this mumbo jumbo relates to my situation I would like to get you to take a short walk in my shoes.  My home is over 3000 km (1864 miles for my non Canadian friends) from my work. Every third week on a wednesday morning, bright and early, I wake up and spend the day “on vacation” as some would say. Two weeks later I am done. Done with the 12 hour days and bitter cold, or scortching heat (depending on the time of year).  This particular time, however, I was stuck hundreds of kilometers from the closest civilization for 5 weeks. 

     To an airport, or in particulr an airline company, everyone who flys with them or is a customer of some sort has to come to the realization that they are a statistic and nothing more than that. If their particular algorithm doesn’t make room for you, or fit into your schedule there is one thing for certain, you’re not getting on a plane!  

      An airport is a simple, smaller form of, government. They make the rules. If they decide a flight is delayed you have no choice in the deal. If they decide they don’t like a certain item that you had planned on carrying on it doesn’t go. If you show up 4 minutes late for a check in you wait. They don’t care about the 5 weeks its been since you have been home.  The 5 weeks its been since you slept in your own bed. Since you even gazed at your grass pondering if you should cut it before it rained again. Do they deserve that kind of decision making ability? In my opinion, no…  Did we give them that kind of decision making ability? Yes… Is there anything we can do about it now? There sure is! Obey the goverment of the air and bow down to every rule and stipulation they set for us I guess… Oh, and try to show up at least an hour before your boarding time to avoid these wicker chairs! 

     Update. Timeline= 24 hours later:
Just one little tip for anyone who might ever find themselves in this exact situation.  If you only have to wait 3 hours for a flight don’t, whatever you do, try to have a nap. You will not wake up in time and that 4 minutes that turned into the three hours will then into another 24 hours! Just so you know!

In conclusion I guess I should mention a little learning curve that I went on. At the begining I was mad. Upset at the airport itself. Airports have rules and guidelines for a reason. Had I have followed these to a T I wouldn’t be stuck here. I would be at home relaxing on my days off. All in all the only person I have to blame for this whole mess is myself and thats it.

     Do people seriously think that people listen to them if all they do is complain about stuff? If I am sitting at work and I am doing something the last thing I want is for someone to come up to me and start whining about their life story. Trust me I have too many problems of my own to even start to think about worrying about yours. Your problems are just that, your problems. If I wanted to know about your life story I would sit down with you over a drink and ask. Since I havent done that, dont bother even trying to drag me down with your sob story. Really what do you expect to accomplish by telling me your problems anyway? I dont force my problems upon anyone else and I do not expect that anyone force theirs on me. Do me, and the rest of the world a favor and keep them bottled up inside or wait till you go home and find someone that actually wants to hear about them and talk about them. Better yet if you have a problem with someone voice your opinion at the time. Dont just grit and bear it and walk away only to push your opinions onto someone else that really doesnt need it. Let people know right away how you feel and maybe you wouldnt have to mope around like someone killed your puppy for the next 2 weeks! If you dont do that well, my friend, i will talk to you in a while then, have a nice day. I want no part in any sort of whining conversation you have to bring to the table. That is all… For now.