Mosley stepped forward to catch himself fully in the mirror, rubbing his jaw to see if it was time for a shave. Not yet. Then it was off to work for him. Another uneventful day at the airport but he must show concern lest he appear as an unmotivated employee.

He saw his friend Anton across the way speaking with an old woman, her hair turned fully white and her cane barely providing any support. P...

Barney straightened his tie, smoothing it as he dropped his hands to his belt, making sure his shirt was properly tucked in, his “gig line” straight—Old habit from his time in the Navy. He sized up the young man he was in charge of training.

“The job is pretty easy, really. We help people.”

“Help them with what,” young Eric asked.

“With whatever they need help with.”

“How will we know what t...

November 22 dawned brisk and cloudy with a telltale gray auroa, as John Davis boarded the train to Idlewild Airport. Squeezing in among the other strap hangers, he prepped himself for the day ahead. Thanksgiving was quickly approaching so the terminal would be chock full of passengers disembarking for the holiday in New York City.

John thought of himself as a writer, so he had plenty of time t...

I’ve been working since 5 am, checking in travelers from all over the world. They are all interesting in their own way. Today, though, I think I saw someone unique.

She is an old woman, maybe in her mid 80’s. She’s kind of plain, but she’s got a certain glow. She’s carrying just one suitcase, which is small enough for a carry-on. She checked her larger baggage, which looked heavy. I’m wondering w...

I sit by the gate, lethargically stamping people's passports and repeating the boring same words, "have a safe flight," with a stupid fake smile on my face. This got old real quick.

As I call "next" I don't even bother looking up to see the face. The person doesn't take their passport when I hand it back to them. Hmm. I look up briefly, feeling slightly annoyed. Then freeze. The cold, merciless ey...

I am at the arrivals gate as usual. Evenings are always the toughest part of the day in my opinion. I watch the screens as the planes land. People coming from Italy, Paris, even places like New York. There are so many crying children and cranky parents. I don’t know what to do. I am the only member of staff on tonight‘s shift. Frick. I need to deal with this all on my own....

I should have left hours ago, but my best friend said she wouldn’t be able to pick me up till later and no one else lived close enough to me. Here I was sitting watching as people arrived off the plane.

I picked up the martini I ordered from the bar and took a big gulp of it swallowing it. I watched as the security directed a old couple to where the exit was. There was a wife, pregnant who was...

“Last flight of the day.” Elise whispered to herself. She took a quick look at the clock. Midnight. Her stomach growled. “You’re almost there.” She thought. “Soon you can go home and order some Takeout.” She pulled at the white ascot tied around her neck. These stupid ascots, she thought. Whose idea was it to put her in an outfit this uncomfortable?

She looked at the screen to see that the plane ...

WILL SOMEONE SHUT THAT BABY UP?!

I only think this. I don’t say it of course - hence the capitalization- just to be clear.

I’m too much of a wimp to say that out loud and at the airline there’s a lot of crying babies and too many chances for wide eyes pa’s to take their frustrations out on me. I’m just the attendant, my salary isn’t high enough for any of that.

Instead I say, “Ma’am would you...

The smiles beaming from faces all around, people meeting from far and wide, families reunited after years apart. All of these sights warm my heart. The heart that is impossible to warm.

I sit here day in day out, imagining what it would be like to have people who care so much: people who can’t wait to see you, people who make the effort to come and meet you. That is just a foreign concept to me, ...