Flying Standby

Thursday May 12, 2011 – 1:17pm (Minneapolis time)

My First Standby Adventure

Marcella and I are sitting at gate F12 waiting to hopefully catch the 3:20 flight to Detroit. We were lucky enough to get on our flight out of Calgary no problem, but getting out of Minneapolis hasn’t been quite as easy. Our first potential flight to Detroit was scheduled to leave around 1pm but unfortunately we didn’t make it. Marcella has a higher priority than I do, so it makes it a little more tricky seeing as she’s a bit closer to the top of the list, and could get on without me but she’s said that we won’t separate! If we do get on this flight, we should make it to Detroit in time for our flight to Quebec City, but again, no guarantees we would get on that flight either. So far this has been quite interesting… and a little nerve racking!

One thing I’ve had lots of time to do is observe people in the airport (obviously a great pastime). While we were landing into Minneapolis, I got thinking about everyone else on the plane, whether they were going home, leaving home, moving away, running away, etc. My feelings were pretty mixed, I’ve really never been here before and therefore I have no emotional connection to this place. But I do remember how I felt when I came home from Spain and landed in Calgary, I could have jumped up and cheered when I saw the Rockies.

Overall I find the airport to be one of the most fascinating places. You cross paths with so many people that you may never otherwise have even seen. Everyone is on different journeys, moving at different speeds, and coming from different places. Its funny that every time I end up sitting in the airport, I spend much more time inventing other people’s stories and adventures, than I do thinking about my own

What we decided to do to pass time...