Clear For Takeoff

Tomorrow evening I will be venturing to the relatively tame Raleigh-Durham International airport. Flying with my transport of choice, Southwest airlines will be transporting me northwest to the exciting - and hopefully not too cold- city of Chicago. While visiting the windy city is obviously an eventful jaunt in itself, I am never quite sure what I will experience in those terminal waiting areas. My last trip home to Baltimore was greeted with an hour delay so needless to say, the natives at gate 26 were rather restless. Throw a bunch of tired travelers into a small confined space and you have a recipe for hostility. Things were going pretty smoothly until we heard a piercing bark. Once, twice…three times. I began to see everyone looking around; some even growing frantic trying to figure out where this awful sound was coming from. It was as if everyone zoned in on their target at the same time and realized that a fellow vacationer had a dog under seven pounds crammed into what can only be referred to as a dog purse. As this small creature kept barking, people's faces began to change from looks of slight amusement to fear. This dog better not be on my flight. I even saw an elderly, and might I add very annoyed gentleman seek assistance from security in determining how one could possibly transport such an abomination. Let’s just say I was not envious of the looks being shot that woman's way as this dog, apparently excited by his new found popularity kept treating us to his best variety of vocal exultations. Apparently it is legal to carry on a laptop, purse, small suitcase or canine. Now being socially acceptable is quite another issue. Not to fear readers, tomorrow evening Tilla will remain at my apartment and the only things I will be carrying on are Ipod and some heavy reading material.