Something about airports

My favorite airports, in no particular order.

O'Hare, Chicago. The great American airport, and the hoped-for midway point of a journey. The terminals are a pastiche of white, checkerboard gray and lattice windows, and the effect is to make the airport seem intimate in spite of it's massive size. Ammenities run from the mundane (Starbucks, shock) to the faux singular (an airport version of the famed-by-Belushi Billy Goat Tavern?), but the view of the lake and skyline upon landing and departing is worth all.

Wayne County, Detroit. A gem. Sure, DTW feels like any moderately upscale mall, with a Chili's, Bud Beer Garden and Sunglass Hut. But it's clean, modern and efficient, and that's a lot more than I can say for Newark or Cleveland. Besides, it's a fully enclosed spot miles away from Detroit itself. Take the moving sidewalk, set up at the Tailpipe Tap and enjoy the layover.

Sea-Tac, Seattle. Partly because it's my "home" airport (as in home destination and a five minute ride from the in-laws); partly because of the stunning views of Mt. Rainier when the mountain is out and poking above the Alaska Air hanger; partly because I can't pass by a Cinnabon without being transported to the terminal.

Hartsfield, Atlanta. Purely sentimental: haven't flown through here since I was a pre-teen living in Florida. But I remember those early CNN/TBS days, when Dale Murphy and Bob Horner played every night on Braves Baseball and there was a guy that demonstrated his styro boomerang plane in the terminal every trip.

LaGuardia, New York. Again, mostly sentimental. Recent jaunts to the Apple have taken us to LGA in just over an hour, so it's kind of our airport. And I haven't flown into or out of Kennedy in decades. No matter: LaGuardia is fine enough. Bright, relatively clean, and an easy ride into midtown on the BQE. It's nice to have an airport bar where I can turn my head left to watch a Mets game on the tube and then turn my head right to see the light towers at Shea. And the "Welcome to New York" landscaping never gets old. Besides, my mommie used to fly out of LGA as a flight attendent. So there.

My average airports, in no particular order.

Minneapolis-St. Paul. Eh, nothing to write home about, you betcha. Fine and functional, and not much more. The view of the MPLS skyline is more than worth it, though.

Newark Liberty. View of the Apple is good (on the other side of the view of Elizabeth, that is), and there's a Nathan's Famous and a Samuel Adams Brewpub. Unfortunately, there's only one true Nathan's (in Coney, duh), and the only true Samuel Adams Brewpub was in Copley Square Boston. THAT Sam was my second home when I lived four blocks away. You're telling me that it closed only to move to Newark? Huh? Terminal is fairly dingy, and you're dead in the heart of Newark, a.k.a. carjack city. Fuckin' great! Most people wouldn't say it, but I'll take LaGuardia.

My worst airport, in no particluar order.

Hopkins International, Cleveland. Worst airport ever! Dingy, dark, and open on all sides to views of industrial Cleveland. I should say up front that I have experienced downtown Cleveland, specifically in 1992, long before the revival brought about in part by Jacob's Field and a few good Jim Thome/Albert Belle Indians squads (I saw the lot of rubble that became The Jake on the way to the old Cleveland Stadium, now the world's largest man-made reef in Lake Erie). Never been more shit-scared in my life. Not much of anything works in Cleveland, and they have an airport to prove the fact. Hope for MSP instead.

Work has been a helacous skull-fucking ordeal this week, but recompense will follow this weekend and next week. I shall opine further after sleep befalls and the catatonia fades...