The Gauntlet

I love flying out of small airports… There is nothing better than the 15 foot walk from entryway to checkin. Don’t get me wrong — I still reminisce about the Heathrow days, when long security lines snaked around the coffee shops and purse boutiques, and that was even before you the entered security rope maze.

This morning I departed from Westchester County airport which I suppose used to be a bit of a secret and a posh place for the wealthy to depart after rolling out of bed and their limos.

Now however, they’ve accepted the blood money of Jetblue and the little airport in the woods with the 20×20 check in area and one gate is exploding with passengers.

The plus side of this however is they are small. They have a limited team in their security area and they are well oiled. It was a wonderful gauntlet with a tall security officer at the one metal detector booming: “hold up your boarding passeds where I can see them!” while an über efficient woman shoved our coats, shoes and bags through the x-ray with lightening speed. Just my style. “folks you are coming through a metal detector! That means take any metal out of your pockets! Yes your cell phone and keys are made of metal!”

They were fast but not fast enough for the mad woman wandering the airport (it isn’t THAT big) looking for some way to get on the “Charlotte” flight.

Thank god she didn’t have to navigate Heathrow.

Elizabeth Howard

Elizabeth writes literary non-fiction, haiku, cultural rants, and Demand Poetry in order to forward the cause of beautiful writing. She calls London, Kansas City, and Iowa home. 

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