“I’m sorry sir, but the line to check in starts back there.” That is what the large man directing foot traffic in JFK’s Air India terminal told me, as I turned to see a secondary line of 50 people waiting to get onto the line to check in. “All right, it’s noon right now, flight doesn’t leave till 2, I’ll be fine”, I said to myself. When I conquered the first line, I gained access to line number two. Waiting patiently, I pulled along my oversized black garment bag, gym bag filled to the brim with prescriptions and toiletries, and my two small carry-ons. Finally, after about an hour of waiting, I made it through the second line to receive my boarding pass, and the third line to drop off my checked luggage. I was amazed at the size, and number of bags some of these folks were bringing with them. All I could think about was the poor employees that had to lift these things onto the conveyor belts while constantly dealing with disgruntled passengers worried about missing their flight. “Ma’am I wish I could help you with all those over sized bags.” She smiled and wished me a good flight.
After getting through that mass of lines, I almost forgot that I still had to go through security. I made my way down some stairs, where admittedly, I got a little turned around before I realized where the line was. Goal in hand I made my way towards queue number four. Standing in front of me was a cute little old Indian couple that took their sweet little time walking down the line as they blew air kisses to their adorable granddaughter of no more than five. Behind me, an American family was making their way to India on vacation. We struck up a conversation.
The father, a tall gentleman of wealth and means was quick to relay the vast number of times he had been to India, and how excited he was to be taking his family. The daughter, about 15, did not look nearly as thrilled. I expressed that this was my first time going to India, and the father jumped into all of the things I had to be weary of. At that time, I took off my shoes, and went to security. I would not see them again until arriving in India.
Making it through security with only 20 minutes till boarding time, I raced to buy some water, gum, and batteries; my airplane trifecta. I made my way to the gate and sat down to my tasty Se-port Deli Gasm (Thanks Sarah, You’re the Best). As I finished the first half of the sandwich, the announcement to board came over the loud speaker. Line number 5 here I come…
No comments:
Post a Comment