Focus

This is Atlanta? Blue skies and sunshine Atlanta? Sorry, December gets you gray skies and rain.

When I was in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago, waiting to board the plane to B.A., the woman at the desk kept up an uninterrupted harangue: get in line, no not that line, the other line, make sure you have you papers in order, no not those papers, the other line, and on and on and on. It was a little annoying, but as many of the people there did not have any grasp of English, understandable. I mean if you speak louder surely they will understand, right?
      I spent this time walking up and down the concourse. Doc is always berating me to get more exercise so okay, I'm walking, and it sure beats standing there. I end up being one of the last two dozen people on the plane. Now usually once you have made it through the document control point at the head of the jetway, you get to walk maybe ten feet before you find yourself in line with the other 200 people who were in a big hurry to get there in front of you. So you stand and wait. Again.
    This time however the jetway was completely clear. I was able to walk from the entrance to aircraft without having to stop and wait for anything. High point of my trip. So maybe all that hollering by the desk clerk did some good.

District 13 evacuate to the shelters

    I was reminded of this incident by a scene from the latest Hunger Games movie when there is an air-raid and everyone needs to move to the bomb-proof lower levels of their underground city. See, the jetway in Atlanta was not completely clear. I passed two women who had stopped for some reason. Perhaps they had some misgivings about this flight, or they suddenly remembered they needed to call their mother, or maybe one of their bags became dislodged and they stopped to correct it. I don't know why, but I do remember thinking 'what's the matter with you? All you have to do is walk to 200 feet to the airplane and you can't do that without stopping?' I didn't say anything, they didn't block the passage, so no harm, no foul.
    The scene from the Hunger Games movie where the people are moving to the bomb-shelters is accompanied by your typical public service emergency soundtrack - siren blaring, a voice repeating basic instructions over and over again. I'm wondering is that really necessary. I would think that one utterance of 'incoming' would be enough to get everyone moving in the right direction and keep them moving until they were all in their assigned places. I am beginning to suspect that I might possibly be wrong about this.