My parents have spent the last week on vacation in New Mexico and Tucson. They rode their side by side ATV in the mountains, then traveled on over to Arizona to see my brother and his wife. Even though my mom has this upcoming week off, there's always a chance (CHANCE! ha.) that she could get called in, so she flew back and I picked her up from the Tyler airport.
I guess it's been a while since I have been out that way, because when I pulled up to the airport, there were only five (five - total!) cars and I thought, "Man! I know Tyler is small and compared to DFW and its airport it is especially small, but this is ridiculous!" I thought I was just a city-slicker now. After getting out the stroller, taking Abby out of the carseat, fighting her to strap her in the stroller, getting my purse, her diaper bag (she needed a change), my cell phone and anything else I thought I might need, I walked on up to the "airport," walked in...and NOTHING.
A big room full of nothing. No chairs, no people, no lights. Nothing but a musty odor. There was a plane out back, but nothing else. I felt like it was the Twilight zone or something. A little eerie, I must say. Finally, this old man (just like a movie, I tell you!) came out of nowhere, and said in a creaky old voice, "Can I help you, ma'am?" And I said, "I guess this isn't the airport anymore?" He looked at me, then Abby, then paused and replied that it hasn't been for years. Well, I'll be. Have I been gone that long?
Anyways, he gave me new directions, so I walked back out in the heat, had to REALLY fight Abby to get her in the carseat, put up the stroller and everything else, make a left hand turn on a busy, busy highway and drive the 1/2 mile down to the new airport. It was definitely an upgrade.
We got there, and although still small compared to what I am used to driving by every day, it was nice and clean, full of light and people! I tried to look around for one of those computer monitors with flight information, but couldn't find any (I never realized until now how COUNTRY Tyler really is!). Instead, I just waited with other people in the lobby and hoped my mom would find me. Sure enough, about five minutes later, people started streaming out of the only gate at the airport. When my mom came out, she was looking around as if she didn't expect me to be there yet (and I wouldn't have if it weren't for that old man! It's like he was put there especially for lost travelers. I'm surprised he didn't offer me some kind of warning about impending doom or some kind of life altering advice.).
Now, I'm down in Tyler with Abby while Robby is staying home to work and go to school. He had to ump the Little League World Series (or something like that), so he's been busy and needs time to study. We're going to stay a few nights so he gets a full night of sleep and plenty of time to take care of business.
The airport I remember. See the open sign? Very deceiving.
The new and improved airport!
Mom waving hello!
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