Flying. Gate C-12. Nashville.

Posted on by Live & Learn

airplane-fly-light

2:15 pm flight.
Nashville, TN to LGA.

Gate C-12.  This would not be mistaken for Gate 4 in Albuquerque, a share with over 500,000 views.  No Sir. No such Magic.

Day 4 of a grueling road trip.
A thin cushioned seat at the Gate.
Followed by an announcement that the flight would be delayed 80 minutes.
It’s a wonderful life!

I walk.

Country girls with their long hair, tall boots, and skinny blue jeans.

A live performer strums his guitar, his love lost, his heart break. Patrons sit at the bar watching CNN and nurse their microbrews.

The intoxicating pull of a Quiznos Swiss Turkey Club, Hot fries from Burger King and Tall Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks – “Freshly steamed milk with vanilla-flavored syrup is marked with espresso and topped with caramel drizzle for an oh-so-sweet finish.”

But I resist. I walk away from all of this.

And I walk.

I step into Hudson’s. I grab a paper and head to the checkout line. In my line of sight: Kit Kats. Mounds of them. No. No. No.

I walk out with my paper and 2 Kit Kat bars.

I find a quiet spot and sit.  Human watching, the most fascinating of all life time sports.  Short and tall.  Wide and thin.  Quiet and loud.  Loners and Packs.  Clad and barely clad.  And they see? A middle aged man in a sports jacket, slacks, black cardovans buffed to a sheen – licking melted chocolate from a Kit Kat wrapper and another empty on the seat.  Zoo’s doing Who?

It’s the Gate call to board.
There’s an orderly line up.  No jostling.
Nashville, where the pace is two clicks slower.  And Kindness is three clicks higher.
Welcome aboard Sir.

I settle in my seat.
No wifi on this flight. Hands twitch. Eyes are heavy.
I sit and watch the clouds below from 39k feet.
And the blue palettes, so blue, up above.
And drift.

Airport to hotel to office.
And then revert.
No detours to see Nashville? Or hundreds of similar cities you parachute in and out of?
No time to carve out a 30 minute tour of landmarks?
No slow walks through city center on a warm breezy autumn day in Tennessee?
No short respite on a park bench overlooking the lazy Cumberland River, reading the last chapters of Patti Smith’s M Train?
No. No. No. No.
With a empty why not.

Longing, how soft a word for such a ravenous feeling. How we hunger in silence. (Pavana)

Home Pavana. Take me Home.
To the gentle rocking cradle of routine.
To my own Bed.
To my Zeke’s long sigh as falls heavily on the bed and leans in.
Please.
Home.

Notes:

42 thoughts on “Flying. Gate C-12. Nashville.”

  4. Nice post Dave. I lived your Nashville trip last week, in and out, worth it, who knows. Same routine this week although now from Orange County, set to arrive 525 tomorrow morning. Shower and back to work.

      1. Although I wouldn’t want to live there, it was fun spending a few days walking the strip, taking in all of the live musical offerings.

  7. You write in a way that makes everything interesting. “A middle aged man in a sports jacket, slacks, black cardovans buffed to a sheen – licking melted chocolate from a Kit Kat wrapper ” Although I did laugh at this vision! You are so honest, and that is really refreshing. 🙂

  8. In all my years and the hundreds of thousands of air miles, I could count on one hand the times I’ve been able to carve out personal time for touring. But one of the most memorable was in Cleveland, (yes, Cleveland!) and a day spent at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

  13. Glad that you’re home safe and sound, DK. You have such a magical way of taking us with you on every trip. Hope this weekend is ‘relax and unwind’ time (though my heart is secretly pining for the next running post I suspect that the lure of Halloween candy will conjure). 😋

  14. evocative–I love it when you write from the heart, soul and soles of your feet. And I too answer the call of those blasted Kit Kat bars………….I was once a country girl with long hair and boots and I still wear skinny jeans since my sister told me they make me look thinner…………..ah, youth, ah…….superficiality.

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