While waiting for the X20 bus to
Athlone at Dublin Airport, the bus stand was very crowded and I was trapped
between other people and a luggage trolley someone had left. These trolleys
serve an odd function in Anglo-Irish airports. It seems that they are almost a
requirement for air travelers. Even if a person only has one piece of luggage,
even with wheels, people seem compelled to use one to move their luggage
through the airport. This is a journey from the luggage claim to the next form
of transportation. Yet, the luggage trolley stays at the airport. How people
manage to maneuver their bags beyond that point remains a mystery.
I had my bag resting against the
railing, which prevented pedestrians from wandering into the roadway around the
airport, and adjacent to the trolley. My attention was turned to the announcement
board, which indicated that the bus was due to arrive, but scanning the road
leading to the bus stop there were no sign of the vehicle that was to take me
to the heart of Ireland. Out of nowhere, this older woman with an American
accent pushed her way through the crowded and addressed me. “My good sir,” with
fake seriousness, “please allow me to retrieve my throne.” I was a little embarrassed,
both for her and that I as being addressed in this manner, and slightly move my
bag without saying a word while she retrieved the luggage trolley. As she moved
away she said, “It may not be much of a throne, but it is made in Germany and
steers very well.” She maneuvered the trolley between a couple of people and
positioned it adjacent to the curb, whereupon she sat with her feet planted precariously
close to where bus wheels came and went. Shortly thereafter my bus did arrive –
confusion reigned because the sign across the top misidentified the route and destination
– and the woman remained seated, in what I would have estimated as in an uncomfortable
seat, and did not get on the bus. There was a little voice in my head that
said, “good, that’s one less crazy person on the bus.”
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