A TOTAL WRECK
Like most New Yorkers, I avoid LaGuardia Airport like the plague. The airport was built in 1939 and was never modernized. Everything about that airport irked me. The traffic, the parking, the neighborhood, and even the scruffy carpet that led you down the hill to your gate. I have seen much nicer and classier airports in impoverished countries. For me, LGA was an embarrassment. Maybe I am an airport snob, but I think most people agree with me.

This all changed over the past couple of weeks. I booked a rare ticket leaving LGA. I knew that there had been years of construction, and I was looking forward to even more debris, garbage and ugliness than usual. I arrived and proceeded to Delta at Terminal C, and I could not believe my eyes. This place was not just patched up; it was completely overhauled to the point where it was unrecognizable from its previous incarnation.

THE RESURRECTION
The place was spacious and opulent. No detail at least to my eyes was overlooked. Nothing was held back from making this the NY icon it should be. Even the carry-on baggage belt and x-ray had been overhauled to a sleek looking tunnel. It looks like an Elon Musk invention. LaGuardia Airport succeeded in completing its goal of creating a world-class, 21st century passenger experience.

A LIFE’S LESSON - MARRIAGE
I was so impressed with it all that I could not stop thinking (much time to kill on the flight) that if LGA can turn itself around, then anything can.
Many couple’s marriages are a trainwreck -- full of debris, baggage all over the place and a fire burning through the fabric of their relationship. The love has completely derailed and is tumbling down faster and faster. A couple may ask themselves, “How did we get here.” It is my opinion that the main question the couple needs to ask themselves is, “How do we right the train.”

The answer in one word is LGA. You see, LGA had been under construction for over six years and cost billions. They worked and worked on it and did not stop until it was completed. They could have just completed part of it and rested on their laurels, but they kept on going until the structure was sound and complete. Their great effort really shows.

Any marriage takes work. A troubled marriage can take years to rebuild trust and assuage fears. Do not give up halfway. Keep on at it until the marriage is sound and complete. There is no question that rebuilding cannot be done if there is minimal effort. I remember when I was a young married man, I was told that if each spouse offers their 50% then it still does not add up to 100%, but rather only 50%. In fact, it probably will not even add up to 50%. Rather, you need 100% participation from both.

KIDS
The same hard work is needed to keep up a relationship with one’s children. Just because you raise them, do not think for a second that they will always be close to you. The older they get the harder the work it is to maintain a healthy kinship. My wife and I work extremely hard to foster love between us and our adult children, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. My point is that parenting grown children cannot simply be on autopilot. It takes great effort. Just because you no longer need to protect them from a school bully, you still need to love them and protect them from adult bullies.

THE COUNTRY
Lastly, the country, just like LGA, needs a major overhaul. It will take a lot of effort and many years. I am confident that we as a nation will persevere.

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