THE PEOPLE YOU MEET

“When we're connected to others, we
become better people.” 

                                                                          ― Randy Pausch



If you're on the road enough and open to the opportunity, you can meet some truly fascinating people when you're traveling.

On an airliner you are confronted by the unknown. It is a lottery to determine who you will be seated next to, and even the best of circumstances can result in abject silence, with practically no words exchanged. Nothing unpleasant, just no communication.

Other times -- and this is where it's hard to gauge -- you might be seated next to a chatter mouth and want nothing more than to chew your arm off and move away.

So it really depends on the vibe and response you receive, and trying desperately hard not to be either the chatterbox or the cold fish yourself. I usually busy myself with my iPad during the boarding process. Posting Boarding Shots and other observations on either Twitter or Facebook, while the other folks are clamoring over the last remaining overhead spots.

I've had some real winners and some truly embarrassing losers sitting next to me. I believe I've already recounted the story of the woman who demanded a wheelchair, but also was capable of standing up in the airplane seat to rummage around in the overhead. Not once, but twice. Or the man who kept audibly texting with someone even though the attendants had noted, several times, that the doors were closed.

But this isn't about them. This is about the cool people I've talked to during our lives' brief cloverleaf, whether it was for one or maybe two hours max. Enjoyable chats, often entertaining and even educational in most circumstances.

On one flight, from Phoenix to Long Beach I began chatting with the woman next to me as we taxied from the terminal to the runway. I asked if Long Beach was her final destination -- you never know if you're seated next to someone visiting family, on business, or simply returning home. 

She shook her head and said "No, I'm just passing through. I have to pick up a laser and head for Fresno".

After a moment to internalize what she'd said, I told her a lot of us have that opinion of Fresno, but she probably wasn't going all Terminator on the place. She laughed and let me know she was a medical laser repair person, and that she travels the West Coast at a moment's notice to fix lasers in hospitals and plastic surgery clinics. With that we were off the runway and headed for Long Beach, talking the entire way.

On a short hopper from Great Falls to Salt Lake City I had the good fortune to sit next to a highly respected cancer specialist. As we talked about other topics, the subject of my wife's battle with Leukemia came up, and he was extraordinarily giving with his thoughts and support. Again, it was one of those situations where you don't want to intrude, but we had a wonderful wide-ranging conversation of which his advice was just a portion.

"Hi There, come here often?"

My automotive bent was satisfied on a flight from Salt Lake to Orange County when I found myself seated next to a dealership-relations executive from Hyundai. Both my wife and I drive Hyundais (mine is the red sports couple seen in some of my desert photographs), so it seemed a natural to talk about the operations and upcoming plans for the make. I was able to extend my appreciation for our local dealership as well as understand a bit more about where some of the models are headed -- nothing from an insider basis, but just details about what is publicly known. Again, a far-ranging and enjoyable conversation.

There's always the in-flight literature...

In any given year I may have a dozen unforgettable encounters on an airliner. It certainly helps keep things in perspective, and I was astounded recently that a two hour flight seemed very short because the conversation was so good. It may range from politics (which can be dicey but educational) to business, to personal anecdotes -- the man who is currently pursuing an advanced degree while living away from his wife, and was headed home for the first time in three months -- to people who have stories you would never have heard otherwise.

Air travel is nobody's idea of a picnic. Even if you're in First Class or a seasoned traveler there are aspects of flying you just learn to live with -- boarding, for example. So finding those moments when it can be made into something special are the precious ones, the ones we all seek and enjoy when they occur.

A chance encounter has been the subject of many a novel or film or storytelling. And for the brief time your life intersects with a complete stranger's, is the time when something truly enjoyable can occur.

Just saying'.

"A dream to some...a Nightmare to others!"