I was in the Charlotte airport at some point in the last 48 hours, reflecting on the fact that I was living my last hours in the United States for the next few months. It was a sobering thought. I decided to listen in on the conversation of the family behind me to soak in one last bit of the US culture that I love so very much.
Son: My nose is running...
Mother: Here, take two of these.
Father: Those won't really help with a runny nose - they're antihistamines. Pretty much all they do is... eh... be against histamine...
Son: Oh. (He ponders this for a while.) Can I call Grandma? It wouldn't be charged as an international call from Charlotte to Alabama, would it?
Father: Nah. Give me some of them peanuts, boy.
Still, I thought, however many rednecks there are infesting our airports, we're a country of hardworking people with unrivalled technological ability. The airplane I'm about to be riding in was built here - it's a massive flying testament to US power. I was pretty proud. Then I got on the airplane.
Son: My nose is running...
Mother: Here, take two of these.
Father: Those won't really help with a runny nose - they're antihistamines. Pretty much all they do is... eh... be against histamine...
Son: Oh. (He ponders this for a while.) Can I call Grandma? It wouldn't be charged as an international call from Charlotte to Alabama, would it?
Father: Nah. Give me some of them peanuts, boy.
Still, I thought, however many rednecks there are infesting our airports, we're a country of hardworking people with unrivalled technological ability. The airplane I'm about to be riding in was built here - it's a massive flying testament to US power. I was pretty proud. Then I got on the airplane.
The above is a picture of the wing. If you can't tell, the arrow is pointing at a piece of wood that has apparently been wedged into place in repair.
It was, I concluded, high time I went abroad to gain some perspective.
It was, I concluded, high time I went abroad to gain some perspective.
No comments:
Post a Comment