Almost True

Mr. Phil Osofish** sits in a metal and faux-leather row chair in the baggage claim area of Newark Liberty International Airport, Terminal A, waiting for a plane to land. In front of him are three escalators, two down and one up, conveying a multifarious collection of humans and luggage. A hippie descends with a guitar and a sly grin, as if he's seeing something no one else can. A businessman in an overcoat stares at his watch as he steps off. A woman on crutches struggles down and almost falls as she reaches the bottom.

One of the escalators needs oil. It makes a whistling sort of squeaking sound like an angry bird. The noise begins to annoy Phil, so he straps on some headphones, plugs them into an iPod, and begins to listen to, not music, but a post-modern short story about a group of travelers en route to a reunion of former actors who have portrayed Ronald McDonald in television commercials. At this point in the story, the travelers have landed at an airport and are attempting, comically and unsuccessfully, to rent a car.

The coincidence of locales gives Phil an odd feeling of significance, as if something important is about to happen. He has a strange feeling that someone he knows, someone other than the person he is waiting for, is about to descend on one of the escalators. He feels he is in a story himself. He's not sure how this character will react to seeing him: surprise, pleasure, terror, or, worst of all, indifference. Either one of them could feel any one of these things, or some peculiar, unbearable combination.

But it doesn't happen. An Asian woman in a sari with two children descends and hugs a man carrying flowers. Two blond student-types with backpacks stumble off, looking exhausted. A bearded hipster in a leather jacket rides down wearing a bored expression. Then the person Phil has come to the airport for appears and smiles. Phil takes off his headphones and stands up.

And he's happy and sad at the same time.

~~~
**In other words, me. See my Philosofish here.