We were out of town for six days last week. Two of those days were spent in airports and on planes. Long days but interesting, to be sure. The remaining days were spent in Florida with friends, and a grand time was had by all.
But back to the airports and planes--On travel days like this, we spend hours getting to the airport, checking in, then waiting at the gate area. More time on the airplane itself. We had to connect both coming and going, once in Atlanta and Baltimore on the return trip. On those two busy days, we were around a myriad number of people. Some were polite, some very friendly, a few rather rude.
The writer in me looked at each of those people wondering what kind of story they had. Where had they come from? Where were they going? What kind of life did they lead? Who was important to them? Were they happy, depressed, angry, eager, anxious, or just plain numb?
About ten men wearing Green Bay Packers shirts, jackets and caps were on our plane headed to Kansas City. Surely they were going to the Chefs-Packers game. But why were they getting on the plane in Baltimore? I would have loved to know the story.
A young man using crutches, clutching a tiny plastic bag such as you'd get in a store when shopping, sat across from me on one plane. Sadness showed in his eyes, and he held tightly to that small bag throughout the flight. What was his story? I wondered during the entire flight.
A lovely young woman with a beautiful toddler daughter caught my eye in one airport. Both mother and child were beautifully dressed. Then I noticed the mother had a tattoo of a snake that wrapped around her arm from forearm to shoulder. Definitely a story there. But what was it?
The point is that there are thousands of stories around us when we travel. Engage a fellow traveler in conversation, and you'll learn some of his/her story. Some of what you hear can be something to put into a fiction story. Other things could be the start of a personal essay.
We flew Southwest on this trip, and nearly every employee we encountered was friendly, helpful, polite and seemed to be enjoying what they did for a living. Granted, the airlines all want travelers to have a good experience so they'll choose that airline again sometime. Even so, I felt a genuine sense of satisfaction among the employees we encountered. Every one of them had a story. I wish I could have heard those stories. I'm sure many would be most interesting.
Travel essays usually involve the destination spot you headed for. But why not write a personal essay on the actual travel experience, whether it be by bus, train, plane, ship or your own car.
Do you have a family story to write that involves the time someone traveled by one of the methods above?
The next time you travel, use your writer's eye and observe the people who work on the train or plane or whatever conveyance it might be. Look carefully at your fellow travelers. The stories are there. It's up to you to find them.
