Real Kato Blog: The Michigan Weekend: Part 6

... in which I describe the journey back to North Carolina.

Sunday, 2:30 p.m.

I'm at the airport insanely early. I figure, if I'm just going to hang out, drink beer, and write drafts for my blog, I might as well do it in the airport where I feel all safe and relaxed.

The car rental return, airport check-in, and security screening all go smoothly. I get to the gate for my flight and there's a bar right in front of it! Hooray! It's called the "Tailpipe Tap", which is surprisingly not a gay porn establishment.

I sit down at a table with a view that allows for some good people-watching. I order beer and some chips, and I get out my laptop to start drafting blog entries. I've got two hours to kill before boarding, so I might as well get some stuff done.

There's an attractive but older woman sitting across from me. She's drinking and killing time like me, and we make eye contact, but I'm not interested enough to actually go talk to her. I suppose it would be worthwhile practicing my flirting skills, but right now I just don't have it in me. Besides, I'm the one sitting here looking all HOT, and seeming for all the world like some important novelist or something. Why shouldn't SHE buy ME a drink?

They're announcing that a flight to Chicago is delayed due to a flat front tire. It's all coming full circle! They ask people to wait while they jack the plane up and change it. I find that to be an odd mental image; I'm picturing someone with a little portable car jack, cranking up the entire plane while the kids lean out the window watching.

Sunday, 4:00 p.m.

I finished my beer. And the next beer. Now they're announcing that there's a gate change; I have to go all the way from A74 to A41. I guess it would be a good idea to stretch my legs a bit anyway.

While I'm walking, I'm struck by the fact that the new McNamara terminal at Detroit's airport really is quite pretty and modern. It's quite a change from the old airport I remember.

When I get on the plane, an elderly couple sits next to me. I am looking for signs that they are in the grommet industry, but I don't find any.

The plane has a lengthy wait on the tarmac, and I fall asleep before we take off.

Sunday, 5:15 p.m.

I wake up with a start. The beverage slaves have started serving drinks, and they've already passed my row! The elderly gentleman next to me is nice enough to flag down the attendant so I can get a drink. I look at him, and he's got an Amish sort of beard, and he's grey and a bit balding on top. He looks somewhat like former surgeon general C. Everett Koop. He's got a kindly demeanor.

Koop starts talking to me. He asks me what I do, and normally in these instances I'll just make something up. (My best lie was, "I'm an aerobics instructor.") But having just woken up, I wasn't sharp enough to come up with anything, so I just told him the truth (that I was in "computers"). This usually prompts people to tell me that they just bought a PC at home or something, and sure enough, Koop tells me that he just got an iPaq. I guess that means he's not Amish, but then again, the fact that he was on an airplane should probably have been a dead giveaway.

He's a farmer, and he's going to use the iPaq along with a GPS receiver to track what areas of his farm have been plowed and seeded and harvested. Seems like a clever idea. He says that if I'm ever in Ithaca, I should look him up for a tour of his farm. (Um, thanks.) He's traveling to North Carolina because his granddaughter is graduating from nursing school. The first thing that came to mind was to ask if she was single, but I held my tongue.

The flight landed without incident, and I made my way home, where the weekend would come to a surprising conclusion!

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