Here's to you, Mr. Logan Airport Officer

So, after picking my sister up at the airport this morning I decided to try a daring maneuver: exiting Logan.

Since the terminals are decently marked, I wasn't overly concerned; yeah, it's Boston, but it's an international airport, it can't be that confusing. Well, I was wrong, as I often am. My first attempt failed as I located the small exit sign too late to cut off the car to my left and was forced instead to continue on toward the next terminal.

Once there, I turned where the sign told all cars to go. Upon turning I found that there were cones blocking this exit of sorts and a car with flashing lights. So, I backed up and followed the buses that were cruising past, and around, this little blockage. It was at this point our main protagonist entered the scene, smelling of coffee and stale doughnuts, ready to make his mark.

Mr. Logan Airport Officer decided that he could use a good flex of authority, so he blew his whistle hard, (insert joke here), and put his right hand up, signaling for us to stop. So we did.

He then waved us on. We stopped next to him and rolled down the window and my sister informed him that, "we were just trying to find the exit." We were still unsure of how to arrive at this departure locale and thought this man, whose salary likely depends on our taxes (though probably not as much as I'd like considering my yearly rate), might be kind enough to offer some insight. However, he was apparently in no such mood. Perhaps he saw some potheads enjoying their lives yesterday at 4:20 p.m. and couldn't arrest them, which ruined his day. Who knows? But, at this point, about 10:10 a.m., he replied, "So backing up was going to help?"

I thought about putting him in his place; after all that's a pretty terrible thing to say, and clearly meanspirited. But, I didn't respond. Neither did my sister. Instead we swallowed that bitter feeling and moved on, eagerly exiting Logan International Airport.

So, Mr. Logan Airport Officer, although I'll likely never see you again, I want to say thank you. Thank you for reminding me how important civility is, and of the abbhorent nature of rudeness. Enjoy the rest of your day, there very well may be others who need a gentle reminder. Let's just hope they're not of Middle Eastern descent, otherwise they may not make it out with merely a scolding, as a very legitimate family found out while simply discussing the design of an airplane the other day.