Overview

by Joe Grand

So here I am, sitting in the airport again, waiting for another flight. I should be used to it by now; I fly more often than I see my girlfriend. I know my frequent flyer number by heart and always make sure to ask for a first-class upgrade when I check in. Of course, the gate attendant just smiles at me and shakes her head, every time

After breezing through security, I walk down the narrow hallway towards the gate area. My eyes shift around the vast glass-walled room, looking for a place to stake my claim for the next hour before I begin to board my flight. I head for a large window overlooking the tarmac. I plop down in a row of vinyl-covered chairs and proceed to pull out my laptop from my ever-so-obvious laptop bag (it s like having a huge target on my back for thieves). Spreading out my papers on an adjacent seat, I make myself comfortable.

As Windows 2000 loads on my laptop, which sometimes seems like it takes days, I look around the waiting area. I m always interested in how people pass the time in airports. A few seats down from me, an old man in brown khakis is slouched comfortably, mouth wide open, fast asleep. Behind me is a family with two small kids, loud and whining, running around and knocking over everything in sight. The archetypical businessmen fill many of the chairs, their cell phones glued to their...