Is Ever So Important

Tonight, The Who.  Sometimes, rolling back in to Beijing at 1:30AM, tired and cramped into an economy seat next to an older Russian couple, having eaten one of Air China’s wretched, late night only, plastic chicken sandwiches, one’s mind craves an uplift, the whirl of air drums and the thrusting, thrusting of chords on a windmill guitar flourish, perhaps the whipping about of an imaginary microphone and the exaggerated faces of one two or more friends who also enjoy The Who the way you do.  This evening's journey isn't especially "amazing" but I'm glad to have that song on just now.

The lady behind must get off the plane immediately.  There is always a lady or a guy who is ever so important, more important than you, certainly, who must try to walk by you in the aisle as everyone is getting their luggage from the overhead bin and no one is moving forward, despite the fact that the doors haven’t been opened yet.  But she pushes at you, looking for a way to get past you, as she is very, very important.  And so, you broaden out your already broad body and make it firmly impossible for her to get by you without crawling or outright shoving.  We’ll see. 

Later she and her husband, I suppose, run and run to get a spot on the same stupid bus that I get on by walking.  Air China must dock its’ planes out in the dead-to-the-world middle D terminal and bus people in to the luggage area.  It must be because someone has the bus driver concession and it is valuable.  Otherwise thirty-eight some-odd Beijing people would suddenly lose their work driving people around in busses, in China’s largest airport that should otherwise be quite capable of parking people at gates from which they could walk unassisted.

I called the Di Di.  He was in the garage.  I’ve learned enough to know that we don’t debate matters.  I’m at wu qu.  Till recently I used to say: “di wu qu.”  Now I don’t.  I just say what’s actually on the sign.   He suggests another place.  I say thanks for sharing but I want you to come to the place where I am.  He clarifies that, that would be wu qu?  Yes.  wu qu.  Well, ok.  And for the next while I watch him spin around, like a toy car, on my Di Di app, till eventually it's clear that that car approaching around the bend up there must be him and as he approaches and blinks his lights and I squint and confirm the license plate.

Thursday, 5/23/19