Airport Angst

Today is a unique day, simply because I am flying on an airplane today. As I am walking through the airport, people look generally gloomy. Flying on a plane is almost always a stressful endeavor, and I can see this look of stress and their faces and people haul heavy suitcases across the terminals or as they wait in endless lines for check-in, security, or baggage claim. People seem to be in a hurry, and about half the people I see are carrying Starbucks drinks with them. The caffeine is necessary to get through a long day or travelling. As I make my way to my gate, I see that there is a college sports team loading on the plane! It was meant to be.

This sports team is the water polo team from California. The men that make up this team are huge, literally at least a foot taller then me. They have broad shoulders and mostly brown hair, a few blondes here and there. I estimate that there are about twelve of them. They are all dressed the same matching warm-up sweats. Their shirts say their school name with the colors, and their baggy athletic shorts also are labeled with their team name. They look very athletic and official. I pick one that appears clean cut with short brown hair to stalk purely for blogging purposes. He seems to be an easy-going guy, he is joking around with his teammates a lot. He is scheduled to board the plane directly in front of me, his ticket reads B-18 and I am B-19, so we board the plane together. On the plane, he sits with his teammates but he gets the seat closes to the isle. I am a few rows behind him, settling into my seat. The water polo guy quickly pulls out his phone before the plane takes off, and he takes a quick selfie with his teammates sitting next to him. They all appear to be friends. After the selfie, water polo boy puts on sunglasses right away, which I find weird because there is no sun in the airplane.

For some reason, we have to sit in the plane before it takes off for about twenty minutes. The plane is just driving around the airport for no reason. I look over at the water polo boy after a few minutes of aimless driving. He and his friends have already fallen asleep even though we haven’t taken off yet. They are all sleeping in the same position, with their heads back and their mouths hanging open. It is a very funny sight. When the plane finally takes off, water polo boy is awakened by the loud noises. But once the plane is in the air and the noise settles, he falls back to sleep right away. I wonder if he is tired from a grueling water polo competition, or perhaps he is preparing for an upcoming competition by resting on the plane. All three of them sleep the entire flight with little movement, and they have relieved looks on their faces when the plane finally lands.