Martoons

Today: Fred explores the local airport and takes his second flight.

Cast of characters

Fred

*

“Way-gook, way-gook,” the uniformed older women servers muttered.

They all wore hairnets and were dressed in lab-style long coats.

Their ladles and scoopers were stainless steel, as were the trays.

The cafeteria had a sterilized, laboratory aura about it.

Fred peeled a tray off a high pile, scooped some squeaky-clean steel chopsticks out of a metal drum, and proceeded to the serving window.

He pointed to the fermented cabbage sitting in a large stainless steel vat and purposely played dumb.

“Is that kimchi?” he yelled through the noise to the server.

The rugged old hag didn’t have a clue what he was saying. “No!”

She waved her hand vigorously, shooing him away.

But Fred wasn’t going to be sloughed off that easily.

It might set a dangerous precedent.

He was certain that the stuff waskimchi.

He’d tried it at Master Lee’s house.

“Kimchi!!?” he shouted. “That’s kimchi! Kimchi! Kimchi! Kimchi!”

The old server lady stopped cold and suddenly burst into raucous laughter. “Yeah, yeah! Kimchi! Oh yeah, go-o-o-od!”

Thumbs up.

She told the other servers and they all broke out laughing.

“Welcome … Korea,” they said and bowed.

* History before Fred’s eyes *

After his quick meal of kimchi, rice and soup, Fred took one last walk outside the terminal, being sure not to go near that eight-lane taxi raceway.

Three immaculately-groomed Korean Airlines’ attendants passed him on their way inside.

Fred smiled and tried to make eye contact but they were entirely unconcerned and babbling amongst one another.

The attendants, very pretty and slim, had at least a centimetre of make-up caked on their faces, and wore extremely short miniskirts – like the ones Fred had seen in LIFE magazine when he was a kid.

And here I am caught in a 1960s time warp.

And I love it.

* Fred enters a time machine *

After only minutes of walking around, he started to heat up again and retreated back inside.

A small mob of Koreans waiting for flights was gathered around a big TV mounted high up, showing historical film.

1945 flashed on the screen.

It was a documentary commemorating Korean Independence Day.

On this day exactly fifty years before the Japanese surrendered World War II and withdrew their brutal state apparatus from Korea, ending a half-century of savage enslavement and ruthless exploitation.

In one haunting TV image a haggard old man in traditional clothes lay on the ground, stomach-down, completely wrapped around a huge bag of rice underneath him, clinging to it with his life.

Meanwhile another feeble man was listlessly trying to tug it away.

Fred watched in amazement and his eyes were glued to the images.

Other Korean viewers casually got up and dispersed with disinterest.

Fred’s trance was broken as he heard his destination among the muffled, echoed boarding announcements.

He made his way through the gate onto the tarmac, up the stairs, and into the small Korean Airlines jet.

No turning back now.

Arrival.

The sliding doors to the airport’s public area swiftly hissed open.

As Fred followed the deplaning passengers through, several Koreans were standing looking blankly ahead with cardboard signs:

Ron Davis

Miss Cotter

Doug Siemers

Douglas Banton

* Fred gets second thoughts *

Fred was almost relieved that there was no sign with his name on it.

It was as if he had one more chance to think about this whole Korea thing before committing to it once and for all.

He had the distinct feeling he was walking into a bear trap.

More deplaning passengers were coming up from behind so Fred went with the flow out to the luggage area.

When he’d said his last goodbyes to Master Lee, he’d been told that someone from his Englishy school would be meeting him here, but it looked like they hadn’t arrived yet.

He retrieved his red hockey bag off the luggage carousel and slinked through the crowd to the exit.

Here, from behind everybody, he could look around without looking lost.

The moments went by and everyone dispersed.

Still, no one for him and a chill of alienation crept up his spine as he wondered where his ride was.

*

Tomorrow: Fred worries over whether anyone will show up for him…