by Danna Shirley
My older sister, Nan, and I had flown to California to meet our middle sister, Paula, after our 101-year-old mother passed away. We didn’t know exactly what would or could be done in going through the house and her belongings. We went through albums and chose pictures along with other things. We selected some of her hand-made afghans she had crocheted before she lost her sight. Of course, her clothes didn’t fit any of us so they stayed in the closet. Not much could be brought back in our suitcases anyway, so we didn’t bother to go through larger items or heavy books.
Returning to Tennessee, our flight was at five a.m. out of Oakland. We were up by two and planned to leave the house by three; plenty of time to get to the airport.
Who would have thought there would be traffic that early on a Saturday morning.
Our niece, Robbin, pulled up to Southwest Departures and to our shock, the lines for outdoor check-in spread way down the sidewalk. We unloaded, said our good-byes, and went inside. The lines to check-in wound around and around and up and down the designated aisles. Time was marching on and we worried we might miss our flight.
Who would have thought the airport would be so busy that early on a Saturday morning.
We finally made it up to the counter to weigh-in and deposited our luggage. We were bedraggled and needed to find a restroom. The agent must have realized our dilemma and took pity on us. While everyone else was directed to the very long lines at security at Terminal 2, she quietly said, “If you go out those double doors and turn left about 100 yards, you can go to Terminal 1 and your gate is right inside.
It must be advantageous to look old and tired.
We unashamedly slipped away from everyone else as we hustled to Terminal 1. We were about tenth or so in line when two very nice security guards came up and asked if we’d like to go priority.
“Why, yes, of course, thank you very much.”
They took us to the front of the line. We didn’t have to take off our shoes and I didn’t have to take out my computer before everything went through the scanner. I told the security guard next to me, “I could just hug your neck right now.” He smiled.
It must be advantageous to look old and tired.
Our gate was right next to security. I sat down while Nan did her potty break and then they called for the passengers to line up. If we had followed everyone else through security at Terminal 2, we would have missed our flight.
Yes, it is advantageous to look old and tired. 😊
It’s also advantageous to be a child of the Most High God! Thank You, Lord
