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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

At Large Flying Today

Posted by Brendan Kiley on Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 1:03 PM

People are walking around the airport like it's a minefield. Everybody's eying everybody else; salespersons take money and give change very gingerly; a single, small cough draws looks from across the room; everyone's fingernails look very clean.

One portly guy, sitting at the gate in Phoenix, coughed loudly into his USA Today and said to folks within earshot: "It's not swine flu, it's just this little cold..." People got up and moved anyway.

... and the WHO just raised the pandemic alert level to five on TV. It suddenly got very quiet in here.

Comments (10) RSS

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Yikes. I have a fairly nasty cold and have to fly tomorrow. I'll be lucky if I make it out alive.

Posted by caitosaurus on April 29, 2009 at 1:12 PM

It rules to be unemployed with nowhere to go!

Posted by DOUG. on April 29, 2009 at 1:14 PM

I kind of want to go down to the airport run around to get all sweaty, then walk through coughing and blowing my nose just to scare people. Maybe pretend to throw up in a garbage can.

Posted by sgiffy on April 29, 2009 at 1:18 PM

@3, make sure you touch a lot of people on the arm as you ask them which way gate 16 is [cough].

Posted by Fnarf on April 29, 2009 at 1:22 PM

Could be a boring summer in Seattle. If public gatherings are banned (as in Mexico City)there will be no Folklife,Mariners,Sounders,New Movie releases,Capital Hill Block Party and maybe no Bumbershoot.

Posted by Zander on April 29, 2009 at 1:27 PM

@5 You forgot Pride. That one will scare the crap out of any 'mo in these parts.

Posted by I include myself in that, btw on April 29, 2009 at 1:37 PM

@5, or it could just cut down the crowds making those events more enjoyable!

Posted by sgiffy on April 29, 2009 at 2:43 PM

That was a hilarious post to picture.

@5, Don't forget SIFF, the Fremont Solstice Parade, the various Fourth of July gatherings, Hempfest, the University Street Fair, the Bite of Seattle, the Cheese Festival, and much more. Seattle is packed with fun public stuff for months past the first half of May. Please let there not be a pandemic. I've waited all winter!

Posted by another Andy on April 29, 2009 at 2:54 PM

Whooowhee! I have a chronic smoker's cough and I fly out of here tomorrow. I am going to breeeeeze through check-in. I see anyone within 6 feet of me I'm gonna cough.

Thanks Swine Flu!

Posted by Hi, Stupid! on April 29, 2009 at 2:58 PM

Stupid allergies have me hacking one of those dry, irritating, nearly unstoppable little "cough-cough" things. The only good part is that the world seems to have much more elbow room than normal right now.

Posted by Geni on April 29, 2009 at 4:15 PM