Photo Essay: Seeing the country, one airport at a time
Some of you took road trips to far off lands, shared hotel rooms with cockroaches or flew home for Spring Break. Or maybe you just stayed in Logan trying to find someone or anyone to watch a movie with. But wherever you went or stayed, there are always those crazy stories to tell and memories to dwell in when you come back to endure the last crunching six weeks of class.
For me, I took a mini-trip around the United States. A trip that involved six planes from coast to coast and many, many hours of flying. The sound of the seat belt sign, take-off engines and the beverage cart rattling around became engrained in my mind.
For the most part, flying was enjoyable. I got to do some people watching, listen to music, see a couple movies, read about robotic monkeys in Skymall and of course think seriously about life while counting the pools in yards while landing. But there are always those little things about the airport and flying that are just weird.
From lines wrapping around the baggage claims to removing your shoes and practically everything else when you get to the security checkpoint, to getting stuck in the very middle seat of the plane that doesn’t even recline, most of us have experienced little annoyances while flying.
First of all, there are the moving walkways. I have always wondered what purpose these things really serve. Usually placed in the most random place in the airport, I have always used them only for my amusement. Having races with the people not walking on them, or just enjoying the art that is usually put up on the walls next to them. And, it is always fun stumbling off them at the end.
Then there is the food. Starbucks,McDonald’s, Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs, they are all summed up in one word: expensive. And for some reason, you’re always fooled into thinking that you are hungry, so you will definitely pay that $8 for a sandwich.
Sleeping is always a struggle. Some people have mastered the art of sleeping on a plane wonderfully, but I, on the other hand, continue to struggle with wadding up my sweatshirt on my shoulder to pulling out my tray table and sleeping on that, which doesn’t last for long because my legs start to fall asleep. And honestly, those seats do not lean back far enough to be even somewhat comfortable. I have just decided to give up on that. And besides, if you sleep, you miss your free drink and peanuts!
Other quirky things about flying range from the fascination with taking off and landing, fold-out safety manuals, (do people really read them?) the talkative, snoring or just plain crazy person sitting next to you and the little things that you don’t really notice like having cigarette ash trays in the bathroom right next to the no smoking sign. No really, check it out the next time you fly. It could have only been on my flight but I have the photo to prove it. Then there is always the bathroom itself. How much smaller could they get those things?
After all this, I did discover something incredible. Exit row seats. Finally something that makes flying really enjoyable.
I used to think that sitting in the seats next to a part of the plane comes off, so that there is nothing but 30,000 feet of oxygen-less air between you and the ground, was kind of scary. I mean, consider the pressure! If that plane were to suddenly come crashing down, you wouldn’t be the one running around screaming frantically, you would be the one responsible to get those crazy people out of there! So after being bumped from a flight that guaranteed me a window seat, which everyone envies, to an earlier flight with an exit seat, I must say, I was a little nervous. My heart started going, my knees shaking, my palms got sweaty … no, not really. I did glance over the ticket more than once through just to make sure I was reading it right though.
When I got to my seat, I surprisingly made myself right at home. It was heavenly. I sprawled my feet out straight in front of me and made the personal space next to me very useful. I think I was even able to sprawl out enough to catch a few minutes of sleep. That would be one of the first times.
So the next time you get the wonderful opportunity to wait in long lines, eat expensive food, squish between strangers and maybe even accidentally grab their foot when reaching for your seat belt, be sure to keep an eye out. You might just find something new to laugh about while your neighbor next to you is snoring like a boar.
Jessica Alexander is the assistant photo editor for the Utah Statesman. Comments can be sent to jalexander@cc.usu.edu.
