Trapped Between Business & Pleasure

As you probably know, Mr. Parker and I travel the country in The Couple Coach, our C-class, Sprinter-chassis RV. But there are times when flying makes more sense. And being based in Park City, UT, we have a dozen years as devoted Delta fliers. And part of our American Express credit card plan is access to Delta’s SkyClub network. It’s a calm, comfortable respite from the mayhem on the other side of the door, especially during holiday travel.
 
We like the easy access to coffee, tea, soup, salad, snacks and adult beverages. But it feels like we never quite fit with the club crowd. We’re surrounded mainly by business travelers, and sometimes by couples on vacation. And we sound like neither group.
 
The vacationers are excited. They’re a) telling everyone around them about where they’re going, or b) stressed because they haven’t covered all the bases. Here now, an actual conversation:
 
“I thought you reserved the car.”
“You asked, ‘Did you reserve a car?’ I said, ‘No.’”
“But I thought you’d do it.”
“I thought you’d do it.”
 
We are not them. And as for exciting travel, even if we’re going somewhere new and different, we’re always fitting work into it. No conversation about shopping excursions for us. It’s more logistics of how we might grab a shower before an interview, or whether we’ll have time for a bite after. If we do have time, what would be an interesting local find? (Local food finds figure heavily in our travel discussions.)
 
The business travelers, on the other hand, are speaking in jargon that is often canned and robotic. Usually, it involves a cell phone with earbuds: “I’m feeling strong about our third-quarter numbers in the Western market, but I think we can incentivize Jim to roll out phase two a week sooner, and springboard off Davis’s momentum.” That’s not us either. We aren’t Jim or Davis. We don’t have a Jim or Davis. In our business, if we aren’t intrinsically incentivized to move things forward, nothing happens. We say things like:
 
“Babe, did you get that email out to the winery couple?”
“Did it this morning”
“I love you more.”
 
Bottom line, we never quite find our tribe in the SkyClub. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. We like Team Parker, party of two. We like our mix of work and togetherness. And if our tribe isn’t in the SkyClub, that’s fine. It’s right here. And you’re part of it.
 
Cheers to the CoupleCo. It’s hard for civilians to understand. They don’t know what they’re missing.

Best to you all,
Honey Parker