innovation

on the counter sits my quart sized "meets airport security guidelines" ziplock bag. I find myself with nothing more than the usual traveler's woes of a late
to a delayed
to a cancelled
flight.
The Postal Service's this place is a prison comes on, almost too perfectly, feeding itself through my ear buds, which try to balance the desire to drown out unnecessary, loud phone conversations with the all-too polite voice i can still hear informing me my rescheduled flight will be delayed a few minutes, no wait,
we apologize
hours more.

i have always wished i could be one of those conversational types. you know, the ones who sit down, right next to complete strangers, and start up a conversation. The types of conversations that end with e-mails, phone numbers, restaurants, recipes exchanged. instead i turn to the relative safety of my book and music. i keep shifting the volume. click forward, click back,
back again.
swiping my thumb
unable to find stasis between my own thoughts and the escape of overheard conversations.

a seat opens in-between the typical frazzled mother and the all too cliche business man, whom she keeps checking out
i walk over
attention passengers of flight 2465 due to weather concerns the plane will not be able to land for several more minutes, if you have connecting flights you are concerned about please walk to the front desk and visit with us now.
dammit.
across the aisle i see the cover of people magazine. it claims to hold the most important stories from the year. however all i can see are pictures of several interchangeable blondes.
Why is that nicole smith, the one who sexed up that old man and then croaked herself, on this years top ten people? did anyone even notice when Benizir Bhutto was assassinated? did she only make number 12 or 13 and therefore not merit a place? maybe what she was willing to sacrifice herself for-democracy and freedom-isn't as marketable as diet pills. but since when is knowing the number of times Brittany spears has been married become more important than knowing even the number of presidential candidates in your own country? let alone something outside yourself like the NIE's report on the ABSENCE of nukes in iran

at least mike huckabee could be given a run for his money.