Look Around & Pay Attention #5
On the train at the airport. She wore sunglasses inside on a train that goes through tunnels. I recognized her.
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There is zero choice to arrive to the Denver Airport late because of the hoops you have to jump through to get to your gate are many and wide and the floor becomes lava and there is a lot of hurry up and then a lot more wait.
Today, I got there early. So, on time.
I make it through the winding lines to the metal detector where there is a cross TSA agent saying for the 150th time, ‘do not put your backpacks in the trays, people’. He is abrasive and annoyed while huffing and puffing orders. Me and a white bearded guy across the lane share a glance with unspoken words saying, ‘yikes, this guy is having a morning, you know what I mean?’. Funny how many words you can say in a one second glance when we all look up from our phones. In all honesty, I am grateful for him as we are really making good time through this take your shoes off and where do I put my laptop again part and I might be able to grab a coffee before boarding.
A woman in a matching burnt orange velour sweatsuit is behind me. Her Pendleton duster and Pendleton carry-on are waiting for her in the trays. I guess she didn’t get in trouble.
There is a train from security to the gates, another hoop to jump through and my terminal is the last stop. As we board the train, I place my phone in my pocket and zip it shut and I look around….
Matching top and bottom sweatsuits seems to be the trend. I am here for it and will likely be finding a new travel outfit as everyone 32 and under looks really comfy and cozy. Bye lululemon leggings, buh-bye.
The older man directly in front of me is decked in shorts, white socks and ultra Dad sneakers, the white new balance ones my father-in-law wears along with hipster teens - you can google New Balance 508s or read this. He is carrying a medium size-ish black carry-on bag and it is unzipped a little. I can see the large plastic-y tubes folded like a snake that will connect to his sleep apnea mask when he finally lays down to rest tonite. My father-in-law travels with his machine, too. I hope he gets a good night’s sleep.
The early 30-something woman who stopped short and took her place right by the sliding doors so we all had to walk around her is wearing large brown sunglasses …inside … on a train that travels through tunnels. She has her air pods in and as the train takes off, she answers the phone and starts speaking loudly. I find her annoying. I try to think of something nice alas, I cannot this early in the day.
Two young people walk on the train at the first stop. They have matching carry on bags and the boy has tennis shoes on that read ‘what do you want?’. And I do ponder if my shoes asked me what I wanted every day, what would I say? His jeans are plastered with white paint on the left leg and I hope he wrote all the art on the denim as I see the number 23 for Michael Jordan, a lightning bolt and BOWIE written on his skinny upper thigh and a note over his ankle part that reads ‘remember my eyes’. He seems young to have all the things I might have worn on a pair of jeans in the 90s and then I remember that everything from my youth is making its return cycle. They seem a bit lost as the train stops and I have a feeling they were heading to baggage claim - the other train going the opposite direction. They seem unbothered and I dig that about them.
An older man in a collared teal polo and dress shoes walks on the train with his older daughter. She has a floral dress on with black tights and flats. No matching sweatpants here. They, too, are on the phone and he is speaking Spanish. They use a more hushed tone. He holds the phone to his ear and then back to his face as they are FaceTiming someone. I am assuming it is the daughter’s partner or could be a brother as she takes the phone, flips it around and shows him the train and I caught a glimpse of him. I wonder if he lives really, really far away. The phone volume must be all the way down because I cannot hear him on speaker. As the phone video pans to me, I am tempted to wave but I don’t. For some reason, them being on speaker phone does not bother me at all.
Loud talker with sun glasses departs at the next stop. You know what, maybe she had eye surgery or she is sad and doesn’t want other people to see. It is none of my business. I can see now she is wearing thick sweater-like leg warmers in the color grey, they are tucked into her shoes. I smile. I used to wear leg warmers just like that. And a pang hits me as she goes on her way talking on her phone. She is me in a past life. And I soften into mush remembering how hard I used to judge myself in those years, just like I was judging her. I sheepishly and silently wish her well as she glides up the escalator.
Three people across from me on the train are wearing K95 masks. The older woman grabs her red puffy jacket and takes the sleeve in her hand and then places it as a germ-barrier over her hand and then on the hand rail. My naked hand on the hand rail starts to itch a little. Her very tall teen son or grandson (I mean, who knows anything these days, I am making all of this up as I go … as you know) was about to touch the rail and she was telling him to hold on to her instead as she held on to the rail protected by the puff. I love this as he is ginormous and she is not, and she still says, ‘hold on to me'. I wish them all the health.
A younger man fully decked in a cowboy hat and cowboy boots add a belt makes his way on the train. He is very tall so that wide brim hat makes him hard to miss, he feels like something out of Yellowstone minus his grey adidas hoodie. I am living for the juxtaposition and wonder if this is his look or does he actually ride horses and work the ranch and does he have those thick yellow leather-y gloves? I grew up in Texas but in the city and well, he feels like that.
As I depart the train, I release my phone from the zipper pocket of my own puffy jacket that is acting just like a jacket, not a germ blocker. I call to check on my husband as he has had the three kids solo this past week and I feel weird with all this freedom traveling all by myself looking for a coffee.
And just like that, I am no longer paying attention or looking around.
Interested in more of these, read the collection here:
Look Around & Pay Attention #4
Look Around & Pay Attention #3
People watching is one of my favorite things. I love reading about other people's observations too. So fascinating! Love this 💜
I love this so much