tales from an ordinary world

2000-01-11

It was a hot day at the airport - the kind of weather that reminds me of when I'd go gliding with my father up at the Bacchus Marsh airfield. I sat in his car and watch the planes take off with a glider in tow and later on, the gliders would silently land again. It was always fairly warm, sunny and windy when we went (this makes good gliding weather).

Once in a while, I'd get to ride in the Zephyrus with somebody. At Bacchus Marsh, another plane would tow you up (other places used winches, but I forget if I ever went in a glider there). After being towed for a while, and you were in a reasonable position, you'd disconnect the glider from the tow cable. With a slight jerk, you were suddenly free - floating in space (or air, at least). You'd wander around for a while, looking at all the creeks and roads and houses, four or five thousand feet below. Afterwards, we'd drive home at night, often getting fish and chips on the way.

Inside the airport, it's hard to tell what time it is (unless you turn up at midnight and discover that nobody's home, but I'll leave that story for another time). People rush around with trolleys and children, others look but don't buy in the duty-free gift shops, while the rest munch on various fast foods and point out the windows at passing aircraft.

I had a nagging urge to press this Big Red Button. I don't know why.

Upon my return from the airport, a few of us from work went to the Gin Palace, upon recommendation from one of our brethren. It was a wonderfully plush environment, very dark, lots of comfy chairs, with old movie stars up on the wall, a shelf about 2 or 3 metres wide full of different brands of gin to choose from, and james bond music in the background. I had a gin martini (with a twist of lemon - I loathe olives), and watched my friends through the distortion of the angular glass. It was a good night.

Note to self : buy some martini glasses...