The High Tech Airport: Wait… A Dog?

For someone who gets sick on flights, it is VERY HARD to feel inspired in an airport before getting on a plane. It is especially hard while standing line. It is even harder when you are not about to go somewhere fun, but about to return home to real life.

So there I was, feeling drab, toting my luggage forward every time the line moved closer to the security section of SFO.

I did notice that this south San Francisco airport was just a notch above other airports.

“It seems a little more high tech than other airports,” I said to Marnell.

Like a new piece of software, the airport had smooth lines and plenty of intentional space.

Well, why not? This is the region where all the brilliant people live. A lot of the giant tech companies like Facebook and Ebay and Apple call this place home. Most likely they have the best technology of any airport in the world.

“Left past the dog. Then exit right.”

“Left past the dog. Then exit right.”

From what could this monotone voice be coming? A robot?

“Left past the dog. Then exit right.”

The words sounded like the voice of a robot, but no, it was a real person. I saw his blond hair standing out over the heads of the people in front of me.

Mr. Blond Hair had his own logarithm, and the closer I got, the more I noticed that he was customizing his sound track. He mostly just repeated the same thing over and over, but he also kept a close eye on the crowd of people he had probably never seen before nor would ever see again. Without losing rhythm, he would insert little pep talks between “Left past the dog, then exit right”.

“Keep it moving guys, keep it moving!” he urged on the approaching line with an impatient gesture, then,

“Left past the dog, then exit right.”

“Stay left! You need to stay left past the dog!” He scolded a wayward soul. Without missing a beat, he went right on, motioning the next person forward with the signature sweep of his arm.

“Left past the dog, then exit right.”

A robot could have had neither the intuitive sense of the crowd nor the motivating effect that Mr. Blond Hair had. The job could have been done by a device. But not so well.

And then. Wait. A dog?

A dog, who might smell like a dog? A dog who might poop on the carpet? A dog, who might make children scream? A dog, who needs to have his own personal attendant at the end of his leash.

Yes, a dog.

Apparently, despite all the decades of science and research and development, a dog is still better at sniffing out contraband than a machine. The dog was quite pleasant with us. He took a little extra sniff at Marnell’s artificial leg, then dismissed him as boring.

I’m just stunned and amazed when I think of how great our Creator is, when compared to the best of the best of this world.

Yes, a dog.

All an inventor would have to do is imitate something that God made. I mean, how hard is it to duplicate something?

Apparently, they can’t.

And so, there’s a dog at SFO because in the estimation of the administrators of that airport (and others too I’m sure), this dog is better than any device.

What a great God we serve!