Back from Boston

Things went smoothly on my trip. My flight left Dulles on time and I arrived 15 minutes early in Boston after a multi-impact landing. A company limo was waiting to drive me north to Bedford ("Bedfit"). The driver had the traffic report going on the radio and made a few detours near the airport to get to northbound 93. The report talked about a slowdown near Medford ("Meh-feh"). We passed the exit to Peabody ("Peebiddy") and after a couple of turns were on Burlington Road in Bedford where I settled in a familiar hotel. Turns out my driver was a retired engineer who worked 35 years for the company I was visiting. He talked about the workplace before computers -- the piles of paper, the clatter of typewriters. He was proud of his typing speed, which reached 75 wpm on a manual machine when he was in high school. He graduated in 1951.

I don't mind work travel. Different setting; a couple good meals; good support for my work. Things went well. The people watching in airports is entertaining. Yesterday's highlights included: a crowded gate area shared by Brazilians going to Sao Paulo and road warriors coming back to Dulles from Boston. The board said, "Washington/Sao Paulo" and the flight was packed. The desk agents were quite calm as they dealt with stand-bys, and multiple questions from Sao Paulo-bound passengers.

Just an observation...30-something computer types may be good in the digital world, but their aptitude for real-world spacial relationships is low. There's no way their ample carry-ons would come close to fitting in the overhead bins. However, I do give them high marks for determination after watching them rearrange the belongings of others and then try multiple times to stow their stuff. Get this...NONE of the road warriors was able to shut the overhead bin. ALL sat down nonetheless. ALL were asked to remove their stuff, walk it to the front of the crammed plane against the flow of boarding passengers, and check their bags. I made eye contact with another passenger who was also enjoying the show. We exchanged eye rolls and quiet smiles.