Three Strangers

from wikipedia

I use a lot of bubblewrap for shipping my ebay sales, but I never thought I'd meet someone who makes it.

On our flight home from Miami a few weeks ago, we had a little time to kill in the airport, so sat down at a restaurant bar for a glass of wine (for me) and a beer (for Larry).

We were between two young people, both busy with their phones, but the young man looked up and smiled at Larry, and that's all it took to get a conversation started.

"I grew up in New York City," he said,  "but I live in Arizona now. I've been here in Fort Lauderdale helping my grandfather remodel a house he bought. Now I'm going to Philly to visit friends."

Larry and the young man talked for a while on topics of all kinds, from Arizona weather, to West Virginia geography. As he stood to leave, the young man shook Larry's hand. "It's been a pleasure, man."

"Me too," Larry said. "I meant to ask, what do you do out there in Arizona?"

"I make bubblewrap," he said with a grin.

On the other side of me the young lady put down her phone and ordered a vegan salad. She commented on how tired she was.

"Have you been traveling a long way?" I asked.

"Oh no, just tired. I've been visiting my boyfriend here. I live in Colombia."

"Really! Were you born there?"

"No, I am going to veterinary school there. That's why I don't eat meat. It seems like if I'm the one who takes care of animal's health and helps them to stay alive, I shouldn't eat them."

That sounded logical to me, although I'd never heard that sentiment before. "So where are you from?"

"I was born and grew up in Aruba. I've lived in the Netherlands and Canada, a few other places. I like the US but wouldn't want to live here, at least not now with the way things are here now. I like moving around anyway, so I'm not sure where I'll end up."

It was time for us to go to our waiting area for our flight, so we said goodbye and safe travels.

On the plane, I sat next to a middle-aged lady from Nicaragua. She grew up there, she said, but moved to New Orleans when she was seventeen. She married a serviceman and they ended up in Michigan, a long way from her beginnings. Now she lives in Florida to take care of her mother, and works at the VA hospital there. She was traveling to Ohio to visit a good friend, and she was dreading the cold weather. After so many years in Michigan, she was glad to be back in a tropical climate.

I think about the young people sometimes, about their joy in life and what they were doing, their willingness to travel and to talk to two people much older and of a different race than them. It was comfortable and interesting.

And I think about the older lady, who looked tired and worn down with care and sadness. But I also remember her smile when we landed. I'd told her what a pilot told us once--that you can tell if the pilot is former Navy because he stops the plane very quickly since Navy pilots are used to landing on aircraft carriers. Sometimes it feels like the plane is tipping forward on its nose, they stop so fast! When we landed, she looked at me with the most beautiful smile.

"So? Navy?"

"Yep" I said, and we both laughed.

Those moments with strangers are what make travel so enjoyable. Not everyone is friendly, of course, and often people are so engrossed in their phones they scarcely notice others around them. But when people just talk with each other, sharing their lives, it creates a bond across lines of all kinds--age, socio-economic, race, religion, sex. We are all just people, trying to make our way as best we can.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.