When I couldn’t get a flight to Laguardia (NYC) from Toronto, I thought I’d try neighboring Newark.  Not the best idea…  

On the way there we sat on the runway for an indefinite amount of time, told there were "no flights going to Newark."  The Newark native next to me complained bitterly, "Newark just can’t handle the traffic, even on a sunny weekday afternoon!  This always happens…"

On my return to from Newark, when I went to check in, the ticket agent said there was no booking for me, though I had a booking reference and print out with the flight number recorded.  He thought my credit card number would be the key to figuring out why.  It didn’t help.  Human error, which he couldn’t admit to, was the real problem.

At 5 a.m., you’d think the line for security would be short.  But, with only one post open, it wasn’t.  Then, a supervisor yelled "back up, back up," and we were supposed to know what that meant—go back to the beginning and start lining up again, because they’ve opened a second post—one with a fresh line-up, and I was at the end of that too.  Finally, I made it to the front of the line, and, for some reason, the airline had selected me for a "special search."

The searcher greeted me, "I’ve got a lot of stuff on my mind, so hope you’re not going to give me a hard time!"  "Of course not," I replied as I stand there lamenting why so much energy is being wasted on me when they could put more it into moving the line through and look for more suspicious types.  Their biggest concern was why I might have two cell phones.  "Because one’s American and one’s Canadian," I said.  That didn’t seem to satisfy.  "It makes things easier—saves on roaming charges," I added.  Next, every item from shoes, to Ipod, to computer, to jacket, to makeup bag, and more, was rubbed with a bomb detector cloth, inserted and recycled from a giant machine that beeped responses.  Finally, I was released, and asked what was wrong.  "I’m tired," I said, even though getting up at 4:00am wasn’t what was bothering me.

Then, on to the gate.  Though I’m not coffee dependent, I really needed one.  One little Starbucks cart was in operation, with another long line.  I missed the cart on my first loopround because its lights were dimmed.  Didn’t the two young girls working there want to be seen, or had they forgotten to flip the switch?  I joined the line and the lights went on.  $4.67 for a luke warm soya latte, then a little time to sit down and breath—look for somewhere to plug in my computer.  No plugs, of course.  Newark airport is so old and grimy, I’m not sure why I would have expected such a modern business-travel necessity.  

Finally, on take-off,  I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Newark and its surrounds.  A clear spring morning revealed a vista of giant storage containers and loading docks, refineries, chimneys, and trucks— in every direction.  Then, there was the occasional dash of pink—a cherry blossom bringing life to a small parkette—a semblance of humanity and nature in what otherwise could easily be viewed as "New York City’s basement."

Landing at Toronto’s Pearson Airport provided a stark contrast to the Newark experience.  Its spanking new terminal one, which still has some teething pains offers a lot of exercise as well as conveniences.

p.s. Caution:  if you do click the link to the Pearson Airport Website, don’t fall for the free gift ads put out by shopperssavingcenter.net and shoppingspreesonus.net, which claim to flash by once an hour by. They’ll coax you into buying other products and giving personal information away.  Then you’ll be bombarded with other sollicitations, by phone as well as e-mail (all generating more frustration).

p.p.s. When doing research for this blog piece, I chanced on the educational site enchanted learning.com.  Their New Jersey page is interesting, as were their user instructions and tone.  The official New Jersey website is a worth a look too.