Southwest Diary  

Posted by Ray in

As I have mentioned in my previous posts, most of you know that I travel south-west from Hartford to Baltimore. With the rising fuel prices, the fares have also gone up and that hurts my pocket. Gone are the days when my previous employer paid for all the travel and accommodation. I don't work for them anymore.

Every Monday and Friday, I see the same folks and the exchanges vary from a smile to a lengthy chat. I used to think that all other business travelers were paid by their companies for travel. But after talking with a few folks, many were in the same boat (or should I say flight) as mine. One person wanted to sell his home in Hartford and wanted to move to D.C, where he is working full-time. But with the housing market at an all time abysmal low, and with a not-so-good Real Estate agent, he hasn't been able to sell his home yet. He too, like me, is a week-bachelor and a weekend-family-man.

I spoke with another person who takes the same flights every week. His company pays for all his travel. I thought that was great. A few more minutes in to the conversation, he told me his wife was a cancer patient. (I wish her a speedy recovery). He was talking about insurance and the healthcare system in the country.

Just last Friday, while we were all waiting to board the plane, a gentleman smiled at me and asked "You take this same flight every week, don't you?". I smiled back and replied in the affirmative. I also told him that I have been doing this for close to 2 years now. He smiled and said, "That must be tough. I know 'cos I have been doing this for 4 years".

Another time, the person who was sitting next to me said, "How is that you can eat chicken and not beef? Dude, you don't know what you are missing. Did you every try a good steak?"

A short Southwest flight to me is a microcosm of the world we live in. It also reminds me that the problems I face are not problems at all. They are just a norm in everybody's life. It also reminded me of a dialog in the movie "Server Sundaram".

"பிரச்சனைன்றது ஒரு சின்ன கல் மாதிரி. கண்ணு கிட்ட வெச்சி பார்த்தா பெரிசா தெரியும். தள்ளி வெச்சி பார்த்தா என்னான்னு புரியும். ஈசியா தூக்கி போட்டுடலாம் "

Translastion for my non-Tamil speaking friends:
A problem is like a small stone. The closer you hold it to your eye, the bigger it appears. Once you hold it away from your eye, it appears small and you will see it better. You can dispose it easily.

This entry was posted on July 22, 2008 at Tuesday, July 22, 2008 and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the comments feed .

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