There is a cadre, an army really, of people that work at the airport. Some of them are front and center, the rest are background. Passengers take the employees at the airport for granted, mostly. The employees are performing their functions, just like at any other job, doing what they do and what they do makes it possible for the passengers to do what they do, which is whisk themselves (hopefully) through the process and get outta there or on the plane.
That said, those that work at the airport see and encounter numerous situations as well as thousands upon thousands of people on a daily basis. Some things are witnessed personally, many are described later by others, those that were there at the time. Every day there's an ambulance at one end of the airport or another, some passenger went down and the paramedics were called. You name it, we've seen it all. Us worker bees.
So, being on the job at the airport brings up a lot of stuff for you to think about. After all, how many people are awash in such a sea of humanity on a daily basis? Not many, if you think about it. Even if you work in a busy grocery store you're not seeing the volume that we airport workers see. We work at the watering hole of humanity, the place where every creature comes to and I suppose 'creature' isn't the right word but every once in a while, that word fits. I've seen people I never thought existed.
Ackler’s perception of the busy airport
Thomas Shelberg- Unsplash.com
Uhm..... .....so the worker bees have reactions to what they witness or hear about, because you just don't experience this kind of volume anywhere else. The sheer number of people passing through is bound to produce some kind of drama, and every single day the vibe at the airport is different. It's astounding. We airport workers witness all kinds of things and watch each other's reactions to what is going down at the moment. We're the framework that the flow passes through, at our stations, doing our functions, and it only takes us a moment to glance over and see how Joe is doing, or Nancy, or Fred. We're constantly watching and observing each other's emotional states, gauging how they're 'handling things'. Overall, we have the same general responses to encounters and events. Elderly people that are struggling tend to make us sad. Passengers that engage us in conversation about our day and are sincere about it make us happy. Parents that unfairly berate children make us depressed while witnessing children express themselves in unabashed joy and wide-eyed wonder remind us how amazing the present moment can be. It's hard to see all these different things and not be affected.
But there is one guy in the airport that isn't affected, apparently, by anything. Ackler! This guy, a senior in his early 60's, is something else. No matter what is going down Ackler has the exact same reaction to it, which is a sort of blank stare along with a disinterested "whatever!" shrug. It's all the same to him. Is Ackler a Zen master? No! I don't think Ackler has been within one hundred yards of a spiritual bookstore in his life, has ever perused enlightening videos on the internet, has been inside a church for decades (if ever), and from the looks of him, he's not into any kind of self help study whatsoever so with Ackler, what’s up?
Does he not care about people, the effect that the current political climate is having on society, the staggering ramifications of tech, the uncertain direction that the planet is going, and all the other things there are to think about? That I think about? That I can't help but think about because just give me a moment and my wandering mind will find something to dwell upon, and perhaps deeply, but Ackler seems to never go there. Whatever is occurring, he's over it in seconds. I swear the guy's attention span is the same as a golden retriever's. He's there, man, he's got it, that thing that we all want- equanimity- and the incredible thing is, from the looks of him, he doesn't even know he has it!
The guru of the airport, Ackler is. He's not there every day, but when he is I'm watching him like a hawk. I have seen astonishing amounts of drama take place around him. He's nonplussed by it. I have seen other airport workers struggle with excruciating boredom during the slow times while Ackler remains unaffected. I've seen Ackler's workload become almost painful to witness, yet he just does his job- without attitude, cynicism, or complaint.
Ackler has no resistance! To anything!
What an amazing guy. Another person I took cues from was when I worked at a different airport. This cat was an African American guy whose job was to check in passengers curbside. A rather large fellow, he was. He had the most exquisite attitude, something that had been highly honed by years of experience in the airport as well as outside of it but..... .....that's another story, one that I perhaps shall take the time to put to words later. Bottom line is-
You can learn a lot by watching other people.