Columbus International Airport

It is now apparent to me why the Columbus, Ohio Airport is called international. Since no planes leaving the grounds fly over oceans I always thought this was a misnomer. Well, the past two weeks of working as a luggage deliverer for passengers who arrived before their bags I now know why. In the course of ten days I dropped off 150 bags of one type or another. Of those, 70% found their way to domiciles of minorities, aka, people not born in this country. They were evenly divided between folks from India, Pakistan and the Orient. If you throw in one or two Germans we then become even more 'international'.
Since I was a 'newbie' on the job much of my work found me driving in and around Columbus. This is not a good deal. Too much traffic, too many stop lights and morons for drivers who sometimes made me crazy. Simply put, the further away a person drives the more money they make. On Christmas Eve day I was asked if I'd like to make a run to southeast and eastern Ohio. That was a pot o' gold run; in the range of $500. Now you know why ticket prices are so high. Of course, I didn't go. Who wants to work the day before Christmas. This last sentence makes no sense because I did work on Christmas afternoon. But that is known as 'double pay day'.
The vast majority of patrons were more than pleasant and overjoyed to see me. You'd be too if you had to wear the same underwear for three days. I'm the kind of guy who enjoys banter with the customer so I'd always ask, "where'd you fly in from"? Lizzie and I have been to many places and more often than not we had been to the same area(excluding India, Pakistan and the Orient). It's called 'schmoozing' and sometimes it's worth a tip. Speaking of tips, I always turned them down except the giver wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Then I'd come back with, "Aw shucks, if you insist".
There were only two instance where there was possible driver/customer conflict. One took place today. It's company policy to call a home before arriving. There's no sense in wasting unnecessary gas going to an empty home and calling is a courtesy. The man without his luggage was---how can I put this---he was testy. He started yelling on the phone that he had been waiting for his bag for 24 hours; wanted to know why the delay. "I don't work for the airlines, I deliver the bags" I said, "so you can call me "hero".
Then yesterday I had a bag to be delivered and an identifying note said it was OK to leave it on the porch. Well, being cognizant of thieves in this world I called the lady and asked if I could leave the bag with a neighbor. She told me "no". I was informed she was a surgeon and wouldn't be home until 8 PM. This was when it got interesting. There were four or five snow flurries swirling about. It was suggested by Dr. Wonderful that I should go to a grocery store, buy some garbage bags, then go back to her place and cover her suitcase. Her tone was not that of Priscilla Porridge. I had that feeling that she had never, ever been given a negative on any request. "Lady", I said, "I don't dress 'em. I just deliver them". End of conversation. Does that sound mean? I hope not because I said it in a friendly way.
For a part time job that saw me working 14 hours a day my airline experience was a decent gig. But, it's now time to move onward. Check one more off my personal bucket list. Next up, I think I'll get a part time job as either a priest, work at a carnival or become a world class bodybuilder.