A lounge like no other

Dissing MCO, delving into Le Mans and the Piano Man, and welcoming someone I love to the Substack party.

Looking down the spiral staircase of Ponce Inlet Lighthouse in Florida

First, I have something exciting to share: Amy is on Substack! Check our her posts at amyedawson.substack.com or easily subscribe 👇

Yesterday’s New York Times contained an opinion piece titled Airport Lounges Sound Luxurious. I Keep Getting Duped. In the opening paragraph, they referenced the Club MCO Lounge at the Orlando airport. It was not a flattering reference. An excerpt:

After 20 minutes of standing around, we gained entrance to what looked like a breakfast buffet at a budget hotel: beige walls, tired carpets and a small selection of food that looked far less appetizing than the options at Bahama Breeze, the wonderfully tacky, Caribbean-themed restaurant in the terminal. Sipping on a weak gin and tonic, and picking at a sad cup of gummy bears, I had to ask myself: Why exactly was I so desperate to be here?

We had hoped to find a lounge like those we’ve appreciated in Amsterdam, Hamburg, and even Syracuse and Buffalo. We had a similar experience to the authors`, though I’d more likely compare the interior of the Orlando lounge to the inside of a cattle car. And this is where we descend the spiral staircase of a rabbit hole those-in-the-know call MCO (see the feature image from the Ponce Inlet lighthouse, a feature of the trip that started and ended at the Orlando airport).

We’d been granted access and were able to “go in and see if we could find a seat,” but there was standing room only and a narrow path to weave through to reach the food and beverage area. We each grabbed a cookie and schlepped out of there, eager to find a decent place to enjoy a pre-flight meal. Our thoughts echoed what Ben Schlappig, cited in the article, said:

“At some point,” he told me, “when everybody has lounge access, it’s almost like nobody does.”

Denied the alluring relaxation of lounge access, we turned our attention to terminal fare. The options for food were meh, in our opinion, and the best option seemed to be Chick-fil-A. But you know, this being a Sunday, they were closed. Which brings me to a side-rant. How does a chain that is closed on Sunday win contracts to be in high-volume locations like the Orlando airport and the New York State Thruway?

After walking for far too long, passing up the hours-long line at Shake Shack, and finally crossing the well-defined border separating maximizerville from satisficertown, we sat down for a pair of lovely sandwiches at Olde Hearth Bread Co., tucked in a quiet corner on the thoroughfare to a yet-to-be-finished arm of the airport.

Bellies full but not happy, we spent the remainder of our time making our way to our gate, trying to explain away the many oddities we found in this refurbished terminal. The water bottle fillers were all broken (no lie; I checked), so we struggled to fill our bottles from drinking fountains with lackluster pressure. The wide, high-ceilinged boulevards that connected the gates were void of places to sit, meaning that a lot of the other dining establishments with limited seating would turn patrons out into an expanse of shiny flooring, in search of a perch attached to a boarding gate.

It was all very confusing, and we left MCO with a renewed appreciation for some of the airports we’ve enjoyed traveling to and through. They have names like Keflavík, Schiphol, and Hamburg, and they all have wonderful things in common vs. the prototypical American airport.

Something to Watch

Have you seen the Billy Joel documentary yet? It’s on HBO Max (I guess that’s what it’s called now). It’s a two-episode, 5-hour commitment, but an artfully told tale of Joel’s rise to fame, and the twists of fate that he encountered along the way will have you asking yourself about all of those forks in the road you encounter.

We also came across Ford vs. Ferrari, as we’d missed seeing it when it first came out. It’s based on a true story (a plus for Amy), it’s riveting from the start pistol to the finish flag, and offers plenty of good quotes. Here’s a favorite, which you can apply to pretty much any situation where you find too many cooks in the kitchen.

All due respect, sir, you can't win a race by committee. You need one man in charge.

A Tip for the Modern Worker

Be disciplined. When you're working in a shared space with others, discipline can come more easily because of the inherent oversight. When you're alone, you alone are responsible for getting your work done. You're in control. If you are distractable or tend to procrastinate, find ways to inject discipline into your day. One surefire method: make a plan and share it with others who will hold you accountable.

This tip is one of 365 in my Handbook for the Modern Worker. That followed my first book, The Art of Working Remotely, about my experience working from home since 1998. Depending on where you work and which way the wind is blowing, these may be banned books or fan fiction. I hope it’s the latter.

Mail Bag: If you work remotely and have come across an issue that needs solving, a thorn that needs removing, or just an observation you’d like to share, hit reply. I’d love to hear from you.