Early on August 2, 2022, we piled our suitcases into Martha’s car (it’s more comfortable for Martha than mine) and headed off to Dallas. The plan was avoid Austin airport if at all possible. Martha had made the arrangements and we had had such a hard time there on our Durham trip...with the TSA, the standing for long periods, the endless lines...that she was bound and determined to stay away from it if she possible could.
So, we decided to fly out of Love Field, which is the smaller of the two Dallas airports. It is also surprisingly calm and serene given the number of passengers who flow through it on a daily basis, and, normally, you don’t have to walk such long distances to get to your gate.
I think Martha’s on to something here, by the way. The more we’ve traveled of late, the more I’ve come to believe that if you can avoid departing or landing at a major hub, the better off you are. It can actually make a lot of sense...and be cost effective to boot...to drive to a regional airport, the sleepier the better, and then, once you’re in the system, to navigate connecting airports. That could be true even if it means flying back to your home airport to pick up the plane you would have otherwise simply boarded there. It sounds ridiculous, but if you can avoid any of the chaos, mess, and standing in lines for hours, particularly if you have mobility or balance problems, well, it’s worth it.
Martha at the Goat Rodeo In Dallas
This is not to say that our system is ... uh...perfect. We headed off to Love Field on Tuesday and discovered, while one of us was driving and the other cruising the web in search of diverting tidbits with which to amuse our companion, that, just a few days before, July 26, to be precise, a woman entered the Love Field airport and went major meshugana with a Cherry On Top. Specifically, she whipped out a gun and ventilated the ceiling tiles before then taking a shot at a policeman on duty. He, fortunately, dropped her with a well-placed bullet to the “lower extremities” and off she went to the hospital. (See links below.)
I’m guessing she’s even now having a little chat with a few lads and lasses in white coats about how she came to suspect there were demons in the overhead fluorescent flush mounts.
No. I’m not making fun of her. After the last few years...hell!... it wouldn’t take much to push me towards similar conclusions. You gotta admit. Easier to believe than QAnon.
But, the story made the remainder of the drive...somewhat tense.
At the end of two hours, we arrived at the hotel at the airport where we’d spend the evening. We checked in, then went off for dinner at “Rodeo Goat”...no kidding. That’s the name. It’s a self-described Burger, Beer, and Cocktail outfit with restaurants in Ft. Worth and Dallas. Rather good, actually, truth be told.
My Burger at the Goat Rodeo
Anyway, then we headed back to the hotel, turned in early, and tried to get some rest before morning...
...which came at an ungodly early hour. In fact, we got up before it was, technically, dawn. Normally we wouldn’t have done that, but we’d heard all sorts of horror stories about air travel these days, so we thought we’d better get an early start.
We drove to the terminal-area and parked our car in “Garage C.” I was very proud of myself about that. I had carefully researched the parking at Love Field. I had no desire to see any screwups this time. So, I had gone online and checked out maps and prices. In fact, Love Field even has a video on Youtube about how to get to Garage C.
No kidding. It’s a video. A video showing a dash cam view of the road in and where to take the right exit. It’s sounds pretty simple...but, well, I liked it. You know. Simple minds are amused by simple things.(2)
So, we arrived at the garage, went in, found an empty space, and parked. No problem. You betcha. Easy Peasy and Bob’s Your Uncle. Whatever that means. I’ve never really known. But if there’s a Bob out there who’s related to me, we need to have a loooong chat about your paternity. And why were those peas so easy anyway? There’s so much here to be deconstructed.
Where was I? Oh, we parked. And everything was just ducky, peachy-keeno...
Oh, you remember how we forgot where we parked at the Austin Airport? And it took us forever to find it? And we swore up, down, and sideways that we weren’t going to do that again? And how we were going to write down our parking lot number? And take a picture of it to boot? Great. Keep all that in mind. Carefully.
And something else. It was dark. It was early in the morning. Just before the gray dawn As they say. So, we had...the headlights...on...
Okay, and, last, remember how I’m always talking about foreshadowing?
Well, I’m doing it again.
More to come.
Links:
1. For the story of the woman who opened fire in the airport, see the following: “Dallas police release video of officer shooting woman who fired gun at Dallas airport,” by Amy Simonson, CNN, Updated 12:59 PM ET, Wed July 27, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/26/us/dallas-airport-shooting-police-video/index.html and “Woman starts shooting gun at Dallas Love Field airport and is shot by officer, police say,” CBS News, https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2022/07/26/shooter-at-dallas-love-field-faces-charge-of-aggravated-assault-against-a-public-servant/
2. You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTQttHro3Yc
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