stax up

"But if life were only moments,
Then you'd never know you had one."


I like that Sondheim couplet because it captures one of my great weaknesses.  When interesting things start happening, I expect the next moment to be even better than the last.


After the English and Mexican acts in our playlet, I would not have been surprised to see a topless Angela Merkel ride through the terminal on a unicycle while juggling a chain saw, a bowling ball, and Nicholas Sarkozy.  In fact, I was half expecting it.


And that is the problem with anticipation.  Life will never quite live up to what we expect.  Ever.


But it does not mean we cannot enjoy what does occur.


When Frau Merkel and her amazing unicycle failed to show up, I finished my meal.  I realized I had told told part of our group I would meet them.  And the time was fast approaching.


But before I could undergo the siege of airport security, I decided to take a quick rest room break.


Because I did not need a stall, I asked the attendant if I could place my backpack and a bag containing my flight snack (a tube of Stax -- a shameless Lay's rip-off of Pringles) on the counter.  No problem.  He even stood guard for the fifteen seconds I was gone.


I washed my hands, grabbed my backpack, and rushed out of the bathroom.  The attendant looked a bit surprised.  The fact that he expected (and deserved) a tip did not occur to me until I was headed to security.


About the same time I realized I had left my snack bag behind.


I pulled a couple of pesos out of my pocket and headed back to the rest room.  Just as I rounded the corner, I cartoonishly screeched to a halt.  The attendant was standing there, the Stax tube in one hand, and chips in the other -- just about to drop one into his mouth.


We looked like the Mark Brothers in the mirror scene from Duck Soup.


Both of us with our mouths open.  We simultaneously pointed at the other.  And started laughing.  The whole thing was absurd.


He had found a way to get a tip -- thinking I was long gone.  And I had a fitting finale to this playlet at the airport.


It makes me wonder what wealth of material I might find if I just flew more often.