Two hours until my flight was scheduled to leave - was it enough time to take me by work and stop by Target on the way to the airport? Jen seemed to think so although I was not as certain.

After running me by work for me to take care of some last-minute items, we headed off to Target so I could pick up my copy of the Extended Edition Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring DVD which came out that day. Even though it was highly unlikely I would be able to watch it that evening at my hotel, I had waited months for that particular DVD to come out and I desperately wanted it in clutches. "Yes, it was my precioussss…" I hissed gleefully as I returned to the car where my family was waiting while I ran inside Target.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, I finally had the masterpiece in my hands. I checked the time - it was only 9:30am. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I should make it to the airport (only about 20 minutes away) with plenty of time to spare. Finally satisfied that I had plenty of time, before starting the car, I ripped the packaging off of the collectible DVD case and carefully slid out the DVDs. Yes, I admit, I am a self-proclaimed Tolkien geek. If getting a DVD (for full-price no less, when I could have gotten it for sale by waiting a few days for it to be shipped) on the day it was released was not enough of an indication, the fact that my friends and I played a role-playing game set in Middle Earth for a good deal of our formative years should be proof enough.

It was the most beautiful thing my eyes had ever seen (other than my wife, of course). The DVDs were artfully detailed and the packaging looked like it resembled one of the print copies of The Lord of the Rings which I had seen previously in a bookstore. I handled the DVD set like it was some unique relic, holding it with the tips of my fingers still marveling at it in awe. I felt myself being drawn further and further into Middle Earth…

"When are we going?" pipes up a childish voice from the backseat which breaks my reverie and draws me back into the Real World. It tortured my soul knowing that this DVD contains an extra 30-minutes of previously unreleased footage and the fact that I would probably have to wait another 2 days before I could see it. Cursing my misfortune for having a business trip scheduled on that very day (the day I had been counting down to on my calendar for the previous five months), I slip the DVDs back into the case, being careful not to damage the loose information backing that came with the DVD. I'm sad to say that despite all the care I gave to this DVD, even after having made it through my entire trip unscathed, it wasn't long after I returned home that some grubby fingers mangled the DVD info backing into oblivion. C'est la vie. *sigh*

After a brief drive to the airport, I kissed the Kiddos and Jen goodbye and entered the terminal building. While I rode the escalators upstairs to the security checkpoint, I removed every last piece of metal from my pockets and dumped it all in my carry-on bag. I even removed my belt and placed that in my garment bag. Metal-less and belt-less, I was finally ready to confront the dreaded security measures set in place to annoy and detain non-threatening passengers like myself. A long line greeted me after I displayed my proper identification and boarding pass. Starting to panic somewhat as I'm not exactly sure how much time I have, I checked my watch - oh crap, that was one of the metal items that ended up in my carry-on bag. I dig that out and see that I still have time. Whew. Crisis averted.

Waiting patiently in line, I see that several people are carrying laptops which they have been instructed to take out of their cases and place in plastic bins to go through the security scanners. Damn. If I only had our single company laptop, I could be watching the movie on the trip down. I start contemplating how I can snag one of those laptops in plain sight for myself. Perhaps some sort of mix-up in belongings as they come out of the scanner?

Finally, it's my turn to go through security - I reach back into my memory recesses, calling up years of traveling expertise. Let's see, keys and coins all in my bag - check. Belt removed and in garment bag - check. Nothing left in my pockets, no stray pens in my shirt pocket - check. Shoes off and ready to be placed on the conveyor belt? Oh crap again. I realize that I still have my shoes on. I quickly remove my shoes and put them on the conveyor belt along with the rest of my bags. Having had my shoes set off the metal detector during a previous trip, I had learned my lesson and now was not going to give those darn metal detectors any excuse to beep at me.

Even though there was no possible way I was going to set off the metal detector, I still felt a twinge of anxiety as I stepped through and held my breath. Nothing, just as I expected. I remember to exhale. I gathered up my belongings, put my shoes back on, and walked toward my gate as I looped my belt back on. Yes, I definitely showed the signs of an Experienced Flyer.

Upon reaching my gate, I notice that I still have a few minutes before boarding, so I find an empty seat in the waiting area and plop down into it. I fish one of my books out of my bag and pretend to read. The book is actually a diversionary tactic for what I like to call Mission Eavesdropping. I love listening to various conversations at the airport - they are quite fun to listen to and I love imagining what sort of lives these people have. The Game begins.

The objective is to try to identify the profession of the target in question. A woman nearby chirps into her cellphone reminding the person on the other end to do their homework and not to forget to feed the cat. Easy. Definitely a mother. Ding! One point for me. An older married couple sitting next to me are discussing college football. Well, it's more like the husband trying to explain to his wife the BCS standings. "Best of luck to you, guy," I think, "but I can tell you already, either she's not interested or there's no way you'll get her to understand the complexities of that wacked out ranking system."

Soon after, I board the plane and an elderly gentleman takes the seat beside me. I always love eavesdropping in on fellow passengers as well. I'm always interested to see what sort of things they do to pass the time on a flight. I can't help but glance over subtlely to see what they are reading, or what they are working on. After a while, I finally figure out that this guy next to me is a lawyer of sorts as he has all sorts of legal pads with various case notes scribbled on them. I quickly avert my eyes in case he's thinking about suing me for being nosy. With lawyers these days, you never can tell....

To be continued...