Traveling Again

The Travel Bug bit Grandma and Grandpa and away we went!  Number three child and wife invited us to visit in the far away land of Seattle.  The trip was almost a let down after the hype of traveling with a mask.  Yes, we wore our masks from the moment we entered Atlanta’s ATL, until we exited Seattle’s SeaTac.

The land of air travel has many peculiar rules of which the most peculiar pertaining to masks, is the rule of social distancing.  First, there is nothing social about distancing.  My Mother taught me to be social by speaking to people, shaking hands and offering help to needy individuals. 

We tried to speak to everyone we encountered but mainly received stares and muffled replies in answer to our efforts.  Most of our replies sounded like, “Gmmouff td mrffty yommmmth.”  We can only assume that our efforts sounded similar.  Our endeavors at hand shaking showed that to be a dying or dead art.  The closest movement to a handshake that we received was a fist bump and one elbow knock.

The most interesting response came as I offered to help an older man with his suitcase, which was more like a moving POD on wheels.  He adamantly refused my help, claiming that he was perfectly able to wheel his own POD…thank you!  We left him as he was trying to step on the escalator.  We did not see what happened after we left but there was a loud noise and the speaker system was announcing a sale on clothes near the train and D concourse.

The most confusing rule was the actual social distancing one.  Yes, the one that demands a 6-foot distance between all individuals.  We were careful to practice that rule, even on the ride down the escalator.  It was difficult, as a young man kept trying to walk past us and I had to block him for his own good.  He seemed very upset…but rules are rules!

The train ride from TSA’s warm reception to the D concourse was also difficult to maintain the requested 6-foot margin.  We attempted to rope off our area of safety, but people kept crossing our barrier.  This 6-foot thing is almost impossible to keep!  We finally made it to our gate and were met with an additional problem.

The gate agent kept reminding us to maintain our 6-foot social distance but the final straw came as we viewed our seating on the plane.  We asked the flight attendant if he would please clear the seats around us for the required 6 feet.  He seemed confused but kindly answered that the plane was full, and asked that we take our seats.

Exiting the airport in Seattle was a blessing as people resumed the 6-foot social distancing rule.  Our family visit was a warm time of making memories.  However, we are still confused with the social distancing rule.  Is it really 6 feet?  If so, the airlines have much to learn.  Perhaps we will see longer and wider airplanes in the future.

Ken Colson