I'm back home from vacation. I had to change my flights at the last minute, and instead of flying through Atlanta, I had to connect through New York JFK. God what a madhouse. Getting to my next gate was was easy enough, but getting food was a 20 minute wait in line.
The other problem is that, of course, the place is packed all the time, and there just seemed to be a lot more running folks trying to meet their connections. There was one group, two women and a young boy, that had missed their flight to Nice. They ran up to the gate, was told they missed their flight, a very passionate argument broke out, I believe there was some serious cussing in French, they were told they might make a different flight in another terminal, and they ran (more like sprinted) across the airport. But then they found that the plane was able to return to the gate, so they had to send a notably non-athletic gate attendant to sprint/wobble after them. The group ran back, sweating like farm animals, and got on their flight. A few minutes later, the non-athletic gate attendant stumbled back into the gate with a broken shoe.
Later, I was standing in front of one of those big airport maps. While standing there trying to find some sort of observation deck or quiet corner, I was approached by two Asian women (I believe they were speaking Vietnamese), an Italian couple (I am pretty sure it was Italian), and an Arab. I tried my best to help them, but eventually the only thing they understood were my shrugged shoulders.
The flight from JFK to PHX was very nice. I found out that the on board entertainment system had quite a selection of music tracks, and I spent two of the four hours listening to music. This version of the Goldberg Variations, played on string instruments, was excellent. I like artists that perform the speedy variations... well... speedy, which this ensemble certainly did.
Helen Grimaud Plays Bach was another excellent CD. Her version of Bach's Chaconne almost knocked me out of my seat, and her performarnce of the Prelude and Fugue in A minor BMV 543 was also excellent.
Here's a youtube video of one of Grimaud's recitals, where she plays the Chaconne:
Comments