Love Actually redux

The Tucson airport has got to be the quietest place in the USofA this morning, the day before Thanksgiving.  There are about 15 people waiting in the lovely lobby for arriving passengers.  There was not another car on the approach road to the airport, not was there a line to grab a parking ticket.  I found a space in the front row, right next to the hashmarked crosswalk. Walking to the terminal, I encountered the only other moving car in the lot - whose driver decided it would be a good idea to drive right through the walkway even though an elderly couple and I were already in it.  Ah, Tucson when the snowbirds return.  Ah, old people who shouldn't be behind the wheel.  But it's Thanksgiving and I'm in a mellow mood so I laughed instead of pounding on his trunk, and commiserated with my fellow travelers about the poor driving habits of the interlopers.  And we knew he was an interloper - he had Wisconsin license plate.

TIA has a cool arrivals board - it's a digital map of the country with icons showing the planes on their way to the sunny desert.  Big Cuter is somewhere between Phoenix and here, arriving exactly 12 hours after his little sister came down that same escalator.  The escalator is at the end of a long hallway which funnels arriving passengers past gift shops and food emporia and a camera mounted on the ceiling.  Frequent travellers to our airport know to look up and wave at the lens; the camera sends a video feed to a monitor mounted on the ceiling of the waiting area.  Thus far I've been treated to severely overweight airline employees waddling past the glass walls and windows.  The bike police zoomed up the ramp just now, but there are no signs of passengers deplaning. 

Everyone on the couches and chairs is electronically connected.  Smart phones and e-readers and Nellie-the-Netbook... only one woman has printed material in her lap, the newsletter from her retirement community.  Of course, I'm as guilty as the rest, typing to you as I await my arrivee, but it's disconcerting nonetheless.

A few stray passengers have begun to wander down the walkway; they must be locals since they all looked up and smiled at the camera.  Big Cuter's flight departed Oakland at 6am... it's no wonder that the deplaning humans look shell-shocked and exhausted. 

And now it starts - 3 little ones at the bottom of the escalator, saw HER on the tv and raced to be the first to offer hugs and love.  The spa rep is holding her clipboard with the names of the guests she's meeting printed boldly in a silly font.  The waiters are closing down their electronics and there is a dramatic increase in the number of grins on faces.

And here he is... it's time for MY moment.

I'll be spending the next few hours hugging and snuggling and listening and loving.  Here's hoping that you and yours will be doing the same.