Sunday, October 25, 2009

Road Warrior Sightings

All on the same Sunday
From Sacramento to Baton Rouge
Via New Orleans

Denver airport to change planes
Hanging out in the food courts
With a fine cup of coffee

Man also with coffee walks up to trash can
He is nicely dressed, longish hair, in his 50's
Dragging the customary rolling bag
Just another of thousands of travelers?
Nope!

He roots around in the trash can
Looking for leftovers
Finds chip bag
And works over the few remaining munchies
"WTF?!"

Shake loose my bug eyes
And head for the departure gate
Lady on bench close to window
Is breast feeding
With cloth discreetly draped over

I suppose it is not so uncommon
But I have never seen this
In hundreds of thousands
(maybe a million?)
Miles of air travel

Arrive in Baton Rouge
Check into hotel and head for dinner
At nearby Macaroni restaurant
It's early
I sit at table in bar area

A couple of employees
Settle at far end of bar
With take out dinner
From "South of the Border"
I'm thinking this is not a restaurant
Its a Food Court

Another customer shows
And also heads for the bar
Oriental lady, fairly large
Acting sort of strange
In movements
Pulls things out of a plastic bag

Maybe candy bars
And starts nibbling away
Pauses to rummage inside of large bra
Pulls out cell phone
Checks messages
My eyes must be bugging again

I am definitely in a Food Court
Macaroni must have changed its business model

Or this day I have traveled in a different dimension.



4 comments:

Annie said...

Great observations!

TomC said...

Thanks Annie. They weren't so much observations as they were recoil at things jumping up around me. Maybe.

Paul said...

To go to Baton Rouge and eat at a national chain? I most have failed you along the way somehow! And since you were in N.O. earlier, you could have gone to a host of places and seen even stranger sites that could have become the stuff of which books are written. And with lunch out of the way, you could then have gone to Jubians and had a great meal.

Keep reporting. We will keep reading.

I reamin your humbel state of Texas employee working on earning my fourth retirement check and your pal.

TomC said...

Thanks for the note Paul... no you didn't fail me I just haven't done well in following your counsel. I will try to do better and stick with traditional Louisiana cuisine. In defense, I did hit the new Red Stick town Acme Oysters two days in a row - can't get enough of them char-grilled delicacies! Thanks for the Jubians recommendation also. I may get a chance to hit on the way out of Dodge in another week or so.

Very Truly Your BFF