Special Edition Post: Losing A Dear Friend (and Their Minds)

Remember when we said we had a lot of time in the Hobart airport and would "come back to it later"? It's later.

There we were, camped out in front of the JetStar check-in counters. 

Chris wanted to lie down on the floor for some reason neither of them remembers. But ya know, it's a floor . . . of an airport . . . in a well trafficked area. Maybe a little dirty. This was proven no better than by the presence of "Bertie" (Note: His name is to be said in the accent of an old English woman of considerable status, as we did). 

Who is Bertie, you may ask? A very large beetle. Left to our own devices and unusually well-rested, we did what we always do -- people watch and name things. Being upside down in the world is no exception.  Here, we note that Nasheed "does not do" bugs (e.g., if she sees a cockroach in a bathroom, she will just not go to the bathroom . . . for days).

To give you an idea of size, Bertie was first noticed about 25 feet away from us. To get to us, he would have to make the lengthy journey across the thoroughfare of bustling rolling bags and small children. But make that journey he did. In an amazing feat of willpower, courage, and stamina (he was a quick little bugger), he made it within 5  feet of us. 

But then, he zagged right, returning back to the thoroughfare from whence he came. At this point, we were heavily invested. Even Nasheed no longer feared nor loathed him.

Of course, he was headed back into traffic. Our thoughts now went to his safety. 

About two (or twenty) minutes in, Bertie suffered his first setback: a crushing blow to a leg or two under a suitcase spinner wheel. But did Bertie give up? No, though his progress was greatly slowed. As one might expect, a slow beetle traveling across a crowded floor has little chance of survival. His path became far more circuitous. Some people saw and evaded him, but at 8:39 PM, traffic got the best of him.  

Here he is. WARNING: ACTUAL PICTURE OF DEAD BEETLE TO FOLLOW.

Oh, P.S., instead of sitting on the floor, we could have apparently been in these seats most of the time we were there. They were probably 10 feet to our left.