Le Commencement de la Journee

I have officially made it to….Atlanta. One, very small, leg of the journey is done, and I am sitting in a very American-looking Starbucks across from my gate waiting for my flight to Paris. One of the things I am happiest about is the flashing light by the ticket counter, informing me I will be flying AirFrance. Possibility of a midnight glass of champagne? The downside to a late-night drink excitement is that upon leaving my last plane, I somehow randomly realized that I forgot to put my extensive contact information on my “checked” duffle bag. Let’s hope the big light-blue duffle with an embroidered “TPB” on it does not get lost. Alas, I am trying to quickly forget about that misfortune and turn my anxious heart to something else. Airports are very interesting places…especially the Atlanta airport. One of the my favorite movies is Love Actually, and in the beginning and end of the movie, Hugh Grant narrates that airports are full of all different kinds of love. Although I agree with Hugh Grant’s sentiments, I think there is also a huge part of airports that are full of hate. The duality of the emotions of love and hate has been incredibly apparent just a few hours into my trip. Our plane was late departing from West Palm, so the entire cabin is ready to jump out of their seat s and retrieve their multitude of checked items from the “extended” overhead bins. What, you may ask, is my problem with this? If all of these people stand up with the seatbelt sign still on, the plane immediately stops, making all of us even more anxious and late. Not only do I have a problem with the “premature carry-on retrievers,” but I also have a problem with the seated passengers on the plane who decide to yell at the people who have stood up. This one woman in front of me began to loudly dialogue about how all of the “premature carry-on retrievers” were such idiots and how they really should learn how to fly. I hope others agree with my sentiments that airports are full of more emotions than simply love. There is love, sadness, relief, anxiety, anger, happiness, hatred. All of these emotions rolled into one makes for a, at times, lethal combination. With about an hour and a half before my Paris flight leaves, I am back to eating my boxed lunch (money saver!) and drinking out of my Palm Beach Turvis Tumbler (thanks family!). I have an absolutely amazing people watching window, and it is really interesting to be able to sit here and point out the Americans and the non-Americans. We Americans are truly a strange breed, and I say that with love, although this French couple across from me appears to be incredibly relaxed. Love from the ATL. -Tay