The Leigh Show

People watching at the airport is fantastic.  Families racing around, men who have lost their luggage, women who can't understand why their husband just didn't book when she told him to then they wouldn't be in this mess...... I just love to get a snippet of people's lives, even if just for a fleeting moment.

Well, yesterday was no exception.

We were standing in the line to check in and behind us were a group of about 7 gentlemen.  They were all standing there quietly until one of the chaps, an American with tips in his hair started berating one of the other men, a Vietnamese chap because he wouldn't let him stop for 5 minutes to get a coffee.  Their tone suggested that they were a couple.

Vietnamese Chap: "I just wanted to get us to the airport on time."

Hair Tip Guy: "No.  You were just blowing me off.  Don't blow me off like that."

Vietnamese Chap: "I thought you could get a coffee once we got here."

Hair Tip Guy: "No. You've been like this since we got here.  Just don't blow me off.  I don't like it when you do that."

The Vietnamese Chap looked down trodden and at one point wheeled his bag out of the line and looked like he was flouncing off.

Hair Tip Guy: "I guess I just don't take 'no' for an answer.  I guess I have to work on taking 'no' for an answer (he didn't look happy about this revelation!)

The Vietnamese chap came back and stood there for a moment when he must have had an idea.....

(Next to our line two of the check in counters were closed off because about 12 men were checking in about 100 boxes for Forever 21.  There seemed to be a hold up with the boxes so ......)

He worked his way through the throng of Forever 21 men to get to the man in charge and then spoke in Vietnamese.  The man nodded in agreement (of something....)  the next minute he was collecting the passports from his hair tipped partner and the other gentlemen in the posse and they were pushing in front of us to check into the 'closed' counter.  Apparently, according to the 2 men who stayed standing behind us (just in case they weren't allowed to join the illegal check in) a bit of money was slipped into he passports for the man in charge.  We were the next in line, which means they were straight after us, but they clearly didn't want to wait so that hair tip guy could get a coffee.  Once their bags were on the Vietnamese chap gave the hair tip guy some dong and he ran to the coffee shop...... the two guys behind us were heard to say, "I don't know why we always have to pander to him.  I mean, we eat when he wants to eat and we do what he wants to do.  This trip has become The Leigh Show!"

So they were all checked in, none of them felt bad about pushing in, hair tip guy got his coffee and he and the Vietnamese chap seemed to have made up.

Then, they were gone.... just a small snippet into their lives.  Sometimes that's all you need!