Airport Heart Failure

I was waiting for a flight at my gate in Minneapolis. I was assigned an aisle seat and had no carry-on to go in the overhead compartment, so I didn't see any real need to rush on board. I was trying to wait until the last possible minute to board; you know maybe I'd get in line the second time that they called for all rows to board.

There seemed to be a few people left waiting until the last minute in the gate area with me. One woman was just relaxing drinking her coffee. Another man was trying to get some last minute work done. He had his laptop out, and he was also on the phone.

Well, some time before that "all rows now boarding" call, they shut the door to the jetway. The guy who had been trying to finish up his last minute business and not really paying attention flipped out. He heard the door shut, looked up, slammed his laptop shut, and went stomping over to the gate. It was louder than when my cat tears around the house like a herd of angry rhinos. It felt a little like a movie in slo-mo; I could just see him running to push a baby carriage out of the way of oncoming traffic.

He went after the gate attendant with great concern, was assured that he'd still be able to get on the plane, and then proceeded to get back on his phone. I guess he wasn't as scared as he initially appeared. Or the effects of the scare were not long-lasting.

I looked back at the woman enjoying her coffee; she shrugged.