Heading Out From Tampa

Tampa airport. I’m in the waiting area, about an hour before my flight leaves for North Carolina. I’d like to be able to make observations about my fellow travelers to pass the time, but honestly I haven’t much looked at any of them. Not that anyone stands out. Well, except for the man in the seat behind me, who has been jabbering non-stop in Spanish for the last ten minutes or so. I don’t know what he’s saying to whoever he’s talking to on his cell phone, but he has an awful lot to say. Actually, I just heard a woman’s voice respond to him in Spanish. So apparently he’s not alone. He just likes hearing himself talk. Or he’s practicing a speech he’s going to give at the U.N.
Other than that, there’s nothing to report. The lead is running out of my mechanical pencil. I figured that would happen, since I have only one replacement lead left, and it’s buried in my bag. Should I replace it now, or pull a Crewe and replace it on the plane when I have a better chance of annoying someone? And really, what is up with the Country music over the intercom? Honestly, if Country music is the official soundtrack for AirTran or Tampa Airport, my confidence in regard to making it to Atlanta has just gone down.
They just came on the intercom and told us this was “a very full flight” and tried to up-sell us to some leftover business class seats for “only $49.95”. I thought about it. For two seconds. I’m only going to Atlanta for the first leg of the flight. We’ll be there by the time I start getting uncomfortable.
Well, the plane just came up to the terminal. Maybe we’ll actually get out of here early. I’m patient enough to wait this out without real complaint, but I wouldn’t mind getting the show on the road. Hopefully the jabbering Spanish guy won’t sit near me. He’s still at it, by the way, and has hardly taken a breath. I’m amazed at his stamina.
They just told us that we’ll be loading through “door 322, down the steps and across the tarmac to the aircraft”. I don’t believe I’ve ever had the pleasure of boarding a Boeing 737 by crossing “the tarmac to the aircraft”. Well, they’re wrangling ropes and stuff to make a cattle chute, so I assume we’ll be boarding soon. I’m going to go ahead and put away my stuff, since the eager beavers are already queuing up. Do they give discounts to the first five people to reach their seats?