After a pretty uneventful flight from Milwaukee, I emerged from the tunnel in Charlotte with about three hours before my next one would leave. Checking my phone, the American app pinged me three times with three different gates, none of which were all that far away.
The thing about Charlotte is that it's like a smaller version of Atlanta. Hordes of people moving in every direction and every gate seemingly overflowing with travellers. It's not as much of a bother when you have three hours to wait, but it did make me a little weary when I was trying to find somewhere to eat my lunch.
There's an atrium between terminals, and the atrium was filled with restaurants and convenience markets. I didn't really know what I was hungry for, but I could see Jersey Mike's and Chick Fil A. I could also see the lines at those places backing up for a while, so I eliminated those from consideration. Walking a bit further, I found a place that was a little pricey for sandwiches but also had no line. I ordered a breakfast sandwich, and I found a spot on a bench in an area that wasn't overly crowded.
I did eventually begin to get crowd fatigue. Since I was solo, I didn't have a partner to chat with. I didn't really feel like reading, and all I could focus on was the bustle of humanity flowing through the terminal. So I sat near my gate and people watched for a while, then felt an odd peaceful rush wash over me. In simplest terms, I just had to wait. I had no stress and no hurry, just a boarding pass for a flight to Cleveland. I had nothing pressing there, either, as the show I was attending didn't start for several more hours. I sat down, smiled, and imagined my flight in Cleveland landing and the freedom of being out of the airport scene for the day.
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