Sunday, July 24, 2011

Travelogue: Australia – London


Today I saw Superman on the tube. But I am getting ahead of myself…


The flight was a good one. We actually arrived a bit early; according to the cross-talk between the tower and the captain, they wanted us to circle a bit and then come in when we were due so that they could take a couple other flights ahead of us, but the captain asked if we could take a priority routing and land ahead of the other traffic that was approaching Heathrow's airspace.

I am so glad they did… although I was only about tenth in line at HM Customs and Immigration when I entered the line; before I could leave the hall the queue almost completely filled the stanchions. In another stroke of luck, my bags came out of the dispenser onto the carousel just as I was walking up to it, and when I exited the Duty Free into the arrivals hall, my driver was waiting for me, even though I was almost a half-hour early! Nice!

My hotel had a room ready for me and so I was able to immediately unpack, shower, dress in clean clothing and head out to do some sightseeing. It was on the Bakerloo line at Edgeware Road that Superman boarded the train.

I was reading a book on my tablet so I might have not noticed him. I was alerted by the murmurs and chuckles that his arrival elicited. I have to assume that he arrived in the normal way; which is to say, I presume he walked onto the train rather than flying through the open doors.

There is no reason I can suss-out that someone would walk into the tube wearing the full Superman Regalia (blue tights, red cape, external belted underwear, boots, etc.) unless they wanted to be noticed. The guy just stood there, though, pretending that nobody was staring at him. He acted as if he were dressed no more outlandishly than any City banker you might see in the financial district. And in a way, he was right. I kept surreptitiously watching the situation from behind my eBook. If anyone was gawking (other than the little boy across the aisle from me) then I didn't see it.

He got off the train at Oxford Circus; I have to assume that he got no more notice exiting the tube as he did whilst on it. I guess it is just the cool demeanor with which the passengers on the tube took it that made me take note of it. I can only imagine what would happen back home if something similar were to occur. You've gotta love the British with their take-it-all in stride attitude!

Wherever you are today, I hope that something noteworthy has happened to you.

Don Bergquist – 24 July 2011 – Maida Vale, Brent, England, United Kingdom

No comments: