What Have You Lost? No.4

Do you ever feel like somehow, despite advancements, the world is somehow less connected than you experienced growing up? Recently, I started a discussion on things we’ve lost along the way and invited readers to tell me how our social fabric has changed in their lifetimes. I’d love it if you’d tell me what you miss.

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What Have You Lost? The Ability to Pick Up and Drop Off Guests at the Airport Gates

I pressed my chubby round face up against the glass, watching the long streamlined airplanes dip down out of the sky and cruise up to the building.

It was a by-gone chance for a toddler to observe a busy airport runway, a chance that will likely never be afforded to my own children…as I wasn’t a ticketed passenger.

It was 1982. My dad had taken me along to visit a friend who worked at the airport and while there, we lounged in the gate area for a stretch, watching the planes take off.

It was like observing spaceships.

Post 911, this sort of plane-watching is a thing of the past of course, along with another activity several readers mentioned they missed: being able to pick up and drop off traveling friends and family at the airport gates.

Now, of course, due to heightened terrorist threats, friends of flyers won’t be getting to the gates anytime soon. But here’s a couple ideas for keeping the send offs and welcome homes as personal as they used to be.

• Pay to park the car rather than doing curb-side pickup. Perhaps this isn’t practical for those dropping off business flyers for frequent trips, but when sending off or picking up a relative visiting for the holiday or an old friend you haven’t seen in years, make the extra effort to be there when they walk out of the secured area.
• Wave a homemade sign. Especially if children are involved, let them make a handcrafted sign to welcome your guest–grandma or grandpa coming in from out of state or a dad returning home from a military post–and let them hold it right at the edge of the secured area.
• Help with their luggage. Grab your visitor’s sui case or carry on and invite them to take a load off, as you walk to the car.
• Have a coffee or soft drink, and maybe even a snack, waiting for them. Some short flights don’t have beverage service. And even if a flight does offer refreshments, it may have been an hour or two since they finished their small plastic cup of airline water or soda. Having a coffee or drink on hand will likely be appreciated, and even if it isn’t needed, is a thoughtful gesture. If you have to usher your guest directly to some sort of event where they won’t have time for a meal, you might also want to have a small snack available to help tide them over.
• Bring along an extra umbrella or jacket if there has been an unexpected change of weather.
• See them off with care. Snag a last minute coffee or meal in an airport restaurant before your guests take the long walk through security. Especially if their flight is delayed, this may be a welcome way to minimize the boredom and pass the time.

Don’t forget to add your ideas here!

Read previous posts about the local ice cream store, cell phone addictions or front porch conversations.