Confessions of an Outsider: #MDT324

Over the past few months, those of you following the MDT's Twitter stream may have seen the hashtag #MDT324 in use. What appears to be a nonsensical collection of letters and numbers actually represented an event planned to bring several of our more active twitter followers to MDT for an opportunity to meet one another in person. In total 5 "tweeps" flew or drove in from across the country for an evening "tweetup" with the airport tweeter. Each tweep has graciously agreed to share their experience in a wrap up blog series.

Laura Morgan's post is the second of the wrap up series on #MDT324.  Maybe we'll be seeing you at the 2012 event!

By day I’m a copyeditor, living in the world of books. By night, well, if you know me on Twitter, you know I’m a wife (@heyhusband). And if you know my husband, @Mike_J_Morgan, you know he likes planes. A lot. As we drive down I-35, our conversation frequently comes to an abrupt Mike-just-saw-an-airplane stop. And then, quick! Opentheglovebox! He’s got to get out his ATC receiver to listen to the pilots of aforementioned celestial metal beast.


It’s obvious why Mike went to #MDT324, but why me? I can’t tell you the difference between a 737 and a 747, nor do I really care as long, as they get me where I’m going as quickly as possible. I guess I went to the Tweetup because I wanted to meet these other humans who have weird obsessions with aviation.

I could tell you about the airport, and I would have good things to say (it’s got a great atmosphere and awesome rocking chairs), but I’m no expert on the technical side. There was a runway, some gates, and a nifty massage nook. It was an airport; it was what I expected.

Sort of.

Harrisburg International has a pulse, a heart. As Stephanie, a vital member of a team that gives MDT this life, guided us through the bowels and out on to the extremities, we encountered other people who were excited about their work and were glad to see that we were touring their domain. We immediately could tell that everyone who works at MDT is dedicated because even the places the majority of patrons never see were immaculate.

And then there were the Tweeps. Those humans with weird obsessions. Those people with passion. My new friends who also happen to like airplanes and MDT. I still don’t understand why they like planes so much, but I know exactly why they like flying in and out of MDT. I also know they’re people just like me who are dedicated to planes and terminals in much the same way I’m dedicated to hardbacks and libraries. We had a wonderful evening getting to know one another, and I’m heartily looking forward to our next Tweetup.