You are here: European airport

So I went down the rabbit hole, passed through the wardrobe, climbed down the highway emergency ladder on a Tokyo highway--choose your literary allusion--and now I'm here. Haven't noticed any talking animals or a multiplication of moons, but there are observable differences between this part of the map and that one, differences which, contrary to popular opinion, are even perceptible in airports. Empty an airport of its flora and fauna, and I might be persuaded by the anonymity argument, but I've only ever experienced one with people in it, and people give flavor to the otherwise tasteless. Upon landing Here, just for fun, this is what I chose to observe: taller trees! (Trees, figuratively speaking. Gotta love a big, strong, healthy oak.) And evidence of what I venture to suggest is a philosophical divide. I posit that Here there is a consciousness of spatial limitation, a clear and present sense of borders and a corresponding acceptance of certain other, less concrete restrictions. On the other hand, There is dominated by the idea of abundance, infinite expansion, the proliferation of possibility. It's simple geography. What does this have to do with airports? Especially with what I chose to observe during my most recent visits? Ok: It seems to me that a person who is keenly aware of his context (where he ends and others begin) has a different attitude toward his appearance than one who is primarily concerned with questions of individuality, even personal sovereignty. The former will dress for style, the latter for comfort.