I’m currently writing this while I’m sitting at Gate A30 in
Newark International Airport. This is the second airport in the past five hours
that I’ve mingled in, but that mingling has evoked some interesting thoughts in
my head that I felt the need to express and convey to others.
Earlier today, I was at JFK International Airport waiting
for my brother to arrive from Germany. Up until yesterday I didn’t even know
what airline he would be flying back on due to the Lufthansa strike. You see,
the reason I’m in Newark is to fly to Seattle to visit a friend that I met
while volunteering with Samaritan’s Purse. He’s been bothering me for a year to
come visit so I could meet his daughter, since she always hears stories about
us volunteering together. A few weeks ago he bothered me again, but I told him
I’d get back to him since I was playing airport chauffeur for my dad and
brother. I mentioned to my mom the possibility of going to Seattle and she
jokingly told me to search for flights that were leaving the same day my
brother was flying back. Low and behold there was a relatively cheap flight
from Newark to Seatac, so I made the “plan” to pick up my brother and then make
my way to Newark for an evening flight. The thing is, though, that plans don’t
always go, well, as planned. And that’s been the story of my life, so I wasn’t
surprised that two days ago my brother told me his Lufthansa flight home was
already cancelled due to the strike and he wasn’t quite sure what to do. Even
though I had my “plan”, everyone in the family joked about how he would get
home. My Oma figured he could just swim home, and my mom joked that maybe he
would fly home via Australia in case the volcano in Iceland decided to erupt.
Neither of those things happened, thankfully, so he booked a flight back on
Singapore Airlines, our typical airline when traveling to and from Germany. To
stick with the whole God-laughing-in-the-face-of-plans theme, my brother told
me over lunch that he almost wasn’t able to fly back today because he
accidentally booked for April 3rd as opposed to the 2nd,
but the booking agent thankfully got him onto the flight today. But I digress.
While waiting in JFK, I did my usual people watching
interspersed with reading. I’m currently reading Packing Light by
Allison Vesterfelt, which is all about living life with less baggage, both
literally and figuratively. What I noticed while I stood around Terminal 4 was,
not only are there individuals from all over the world with different styles,
religions, and skin colors, but they all have a variety of facial expressions.
Without even talking to any of the people who were disembarking flights, I
could tell exactly how they felt. Some looked exhausted from their
international flights. Others looked exuberant, ready to explore a new found
city on their travel itinerary. Then there were my favorite, the joyous
reunions between family and friends. You can just watch their faces light up
with immense joy to be reunited with those that they loved. Still, there are
others who, when you gaze into their eyes, you can sense a low-level panic just
beneath the surface. For those individuals, I imagine they either aren’t
comfortable traveling alone, or they are starting their lives over and are
overwhelmed by all of the unknowns within their future. So many faces surround
me, and they all hold their own story.
As I sit at gate A30, though, the faces are still different.
Many look serious, probably in an attempt to get some work done while waiting
for boarding. Others are kicked back attempting to relax while they wait. Some
are sipping on overpriced beverages that they bought at the nearby food court,
probably secretly hoping they won’t have to make a bathroom run too close to
boarding. Parents entertain young children, while others shut themselves out
from the world around them using any means possible, but typically this is in
the form of headphones, laptops, or smart phones. Everyone desperate to connect
with people, just not with those on the seats adjacent to where they’re at.
I hope that there are others who take the time to be as
observant as me, willing to take in their surroundings and not miss anything
amid the hustle and bustle of daily life. We are so easily consumed by
distractions that we hardly ever take the time to look into someone’s face, let
alone their eyes, to truly get a sense of how they’re feeling. The face tells
no lies, whereas communications through devices are always deceiving.
As I
close this airport ramble, it is my hope that you will take the time today to
not be so selfishly engrossed in your own world, but rather to take a minute to
look outside it. Share a friendly smile or head nod with someone, or any other
sort of acknowledgement so that you each know you’re not in this daily battle
alone.
