The Departure Lounge

I really dislike flying. It’s not that I have a fear of flying, far from it. I quite enjoy the feeling of takeoff and landing and even get a bit of a buzz during turbulence. What really makes flying a pain in the a$$ for me are the lineups at the airport, the hanging around waiting to onboard/offboard and, the real annoyance, the cramped, uncomfortable conditions of cattle economy class (plus, just to rub salt into the wound, they make you walk past the expansive and expensive seats to get to your own cheap, crappy, squishy one at the back of the plane). As nice as it would be to be able to fork out for Premium Economy or Business Class, the hit on the travel budget just doesn’t justify the benefits. So, suck it up Buttercup. It wasn’t always like this though. I can remember the days when flying was a fun and enjoyable part of travelling, although that would have been well over 20+ years ago. To be fair, I was younger, more patient, more adventurous and less grumpy back then and a “couple” of drinks before and during the flight also helped (I don’t drink alcohol on long hauls anymore as my bladder is not what it used to be and the added need to keep running back and forth to the washroom is intensely annoying, especially if there’s a lineup…….too much information?).

Anyway, the reason I bring all this up is that I was recently stuck in the departure lounge at Toronto’s Pearson airport waiting, for what seemed like an interminable time, to board a flight to Heathrow. I was travelling with my wife and eldest daughter to England for a three week vacation to visit family and friends. With boredom setting in, I began to look around and really pay attention to my surroundings. It was dark outside as we were taking an overnight flight and I started to take notice of the reflections in the windows and how the inside and outside appeared to merge into one. Inside the lounge interesting shadows were being cast by the different light sources. Fellow passengers were immersed in their phones and laptops seemingly oblivious to everything else. So I pulled out my iPhone and started taking photos.

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