Although the end result is worth it, air travel is never easy and always exhausting. Recently at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for a flight home, the TSA PreCheck line was the longest we had ever seen it, causing my husband and I to wonder had everyone caught on to this time and hassle saver. Seeing my cane, the airport workers were very kind to me, but their consideration is no match for the logistics of checking in, baggage drop off, security and the mileage you need to cover to get to your gate. At Sea-Tac, like so many airports, it truly is Planes, Trains and Automobiles. This laborious process, as well as the fact that our vacation was over, threatened to thwart my gratitude for the past week.
As I approached the TSA PreCheck agent with my boarding pass on my phone and passport in my hand, he was keeping up a loud monologue of commentary. As I handed him my documents, he was saying for all to hear, “Seventeen years of marriage, three daughters. I can handle anything you’ve got.” I laughed and told him “32 years, no kids.” His reply was to point at Mister Rain behind me and ask, “With this guy?” Giving us the go ahead, I headed to the conveyor belt and arms-up-feet-apart-scanner, the 3x girl dad saying to everyone within earshot, “The ball is yours to drop.” I take the approach of no joking or laughing or even smiling through the security process, but this man cracked me up.
As I was patted down a few minutes later, I could clearly make out his voice. “You’re either staying here or you’re going. Either way, it’ll all be over soon.”
There’s nothing funny about the need for airport security but on this day, the humor was as unexpected and as delightful as an empty seat next to you aboard the plane. Or an extra bag of pretzels.
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #legallyblindtraveler #travel #seattle #seatac #tsaprecheck #tsaprechuckles
