DFW Gate E17.

So my work responsibilities in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area have come to an end for the week. I am currently waiting for my flight bound for Atlanta, where I shall connect to fly to lovely Upstate New York. My flight leaves from gate E17. I am currently sitting at a quieter area of the terminal at gate E10. DFW has “comfort stations” where one can sit in a comfortable chair and just relax before jumping on their plane. Some people prefer to kneel in front of an internet station. To each his own.

I love people watching in the airport. People continue to fascinate me. I enjoy people most when they are there and I am here. I don’t need to be up in their face or interacting in an overload way; I am content to sit here and watch from a little bit of a distance. I like my personal space.

I checked out of the hotel close to the office last night and headed to a hotel closer to the airport so I would have less stress this morning. Every experience at DFW has been stress free for me (this is my second experience flying out of this airport) and I would like to continue that trend.

As a quick aside, I enjoy the sight of a pilot at any age in his official uniform. Just sayin’.

The woman from the TSA that greeted me as I entered the line for security asked me if I had a “piper ticket”. I was extremely confused by this and when I showed her my boarding pass, she said that I did. Still confused, I looked for some sort of marking that represented a Piper ticket. Did I miss the logo of the Piper Cub? Why would it be on my boarding pass?

It turns out that I had a *paper* ticket because I opted not to use my phone for boarding today. I actually had no choice in the matter; the Delta app doesn’t work well with iOS 7 Beta 6.

I giggled (I was recently told that I have a distinct giggle) and told her that I thought she said “piper”. She said she did say “paper”. It was a point of hilarity. We had a laugh together. Right there, we laughed and mine was distinctive. She didn’t call security or anything.

There were former servicemen and women manning the TSA checkpoint this morning and to alleviate the boredom they were treating their daily duties as a special mission. There was grunting and HOO-AH.

I think this should be done at all times to make the TSA checkpoint more pleasant. I know I certainly enjoyed the camaraderie amongst the former Marines and Army men.