Saying Good…bye?
We put Debbie on her plane tonight. It was the first time I’d been out to Launceston airport with time to hang around since they’ve remodelled it, and it was a bit of a shock to see just how it had changed. There’s a new Hudson’s coffee outlet there, and a few tables and chairs scattered around. The infinitesimal ‘lounge’ where passengers can stay with their land-bound friends and relatives until the boarding call is hardly worthy of the title. It was already full, with a few empty single seats scattered around between silent, slouching couples. To one side, through a maze of cordons, is the security checkpoint for passengers before they head downstairs and out of sight to another lounge where they can cool their heels until the plane crew are ready for boarding. There’s a lot more room than there used to be, and the airport feels a lot smaller and out-of-the-way. But the thing that I miss is the goodbyes. Sure, the changes to our airport might have started with increased security restrictions, but I can remember when family and friends could go through the security check as well, and spend those last few minutes with the travellers before they boarded. There was time for tears and long goodbyes and ‘one last’ kiss. Now it’s a peck on the cheek, a quick hug and a last glance through the glass as they head down the staircase. The passengers spend half an hour in their lounge being desolate (or excited, or hopeful) before they have to board, and the folks who stay behind trail their feet out to the carpark, pay their exorbitant parking fee and drive away. Three quarters of an hour later, (if you’re lucky) the plane leaves the tarmac. You could blame the security upgrades for the changes, but I think it reflects our rush-and-hurry lifestyle more. Launceston is only a little spot, not a lot of traffic drifting through, and it’s probably a bit slow to catch on, but I’m finding that I like that about it. If it takes an extra decade for the island to catch the fever to become more instant, more streamlined, more effective, that’s okay with me. Life is increasingly about getting what you want, when you want it. My generation demand more and want it faster, smaller and more concise. But the face-to-face, real-life relationships are getting less and less attention and time. I’m not saying that electronic means of communication are terrible, or even just bad. I don’t think they’ll ever replace flesh-and-blood contact. It’s just that electronically, we can access anything almost instantly, and technology has sped up processes that used to be hand-powered, until they nearly outstrip how fast we can go. Booking in at the airport takes less than two minutes, and the security checks and boarding procedures only take a few seconds. Maybe in the rush we forget to slow down enough to say goodbye, until we’re left, solitary, in a lounge with a hundred strangers and a mobile phone to call the people on the outside, to say goodbye again.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:17 am
The twin tower bombings in USA back in 2001 are responsible for it… before then you could go into the lounge, go outside down to the last gate before the tarmac… so much fun!! Now, while I think it is slightly ridicuous in the extreme but the airport has to protect themselves legally if someone ever did manage badness. No one likes to be sued… can you even go outside anymore?
September 4th, 2009 at 2:38 am
— you seem to have locked your glasses post comment section; I typed this before I found out, so I am not deterred!!! —
purple glasses?! awesome!! They look great!! I love purple!!
I enjoy getting a new pair of glasses too, its like waking up from a dream and realising you’re in the real reality… awww… but then i remember my new glasses mean my eye sight is worse…
. But i do love staring at people with new glasses, its like seeing more of a person and their identity than before. And colours seem more vibrant and alive…
Hee to Claire (Heeellooo!)!! You’re always considered special. :-p
I’ve always been told that staring into someone’s eyes is a sign that you’re interested in what they’re saying and connected. Too much means you’re alittle… aggressive and weird. But always keep eye contact in job interviews, they love that; sign of confidence; competence; reliablity.
…I had more written but browser lost it all… damn it.
September 4th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Sorry, fixed the comments on specs now.
Heh, thanks for the sage advice. It’s all nice in theory, in everyday practise it gets a little harder.
oh, my. My paragraphs disappeared!
But my point was that it’s not just the security measures, it’s the swiftness of the technology, too. The technology can put everything through so fast, and yet they demand that it’s done so much in advance, and at the end of the day you’re whisked from a goodbye to a lonely seat in the lounge and still have to wait for ages.
September 4th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Your post reminded me of this (I know it is a bit long but I couldn’t find any bits that I felt could be cut from it):
The paradox of our time in history:
We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.
We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life; we’ve added years to life, not life to years.
We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbour. We’ve conquered outer space, but not inner space; we’ve done larger things, but not better things.
We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we’ve split the atom, but not our prejudice.
We write more, but learn less; we plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but lower morals; we have more food, but less appeasement; we build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; we’ve become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.
These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill.
It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology has brought this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference, or to just hit “Skip Ahead”…