Mile High Adventures

My mom used to tease me, well I thought it was teasing, but she may have been serious but that's another story, that I could anyone to death, and when no one was left, I would start talking to the walls. Over the years, that theory has time and again validated itself, says the blogger - now I don't even need a real wall - a virtual one suites me just fine.

There is of course one exception to this rule, and if you know me well, you are keyed into my one anti-social zone; one that literally tracends space and time - that is my flying time. It is the one space I shut down completely and am usually chapters deep in the story of slumber before the plane as finished boarding, let alone take-off. Whether its the idol chit-chat, the much needed sleep time, or the fact that you are cemented in your seat, and your seatmates for that matter, for a min. of 5 hours for my typical transcontinental flights, I go into cacoon mode.

So when my seatmate solicited polite conversation on my last flight from San Diego to DC, I entertained the a brief exchange as I dug through my extremely oversized tote to find the headphones that mysteriously (and yet consistently) are amputated from my beloved Lilly (ipod). Once those two were reunited, the conversation would be curbed. Well in this particular instance I was again informed that my petite duffel I was slightly overweight, and rather than cough up $25 for my prized possessions I found room in my carry on! (I'll show you united!)

Needless to say my coveted sleep time was inching away as I grappled for my ipod - I clear flag marking my path to isolation! Well my aforementioned seatmate was actually quite pleasant as we chatted about his interest in science and his admiration for his wife and grandchildren. The convo continued to a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet when a gentleman on his way to the mile high Porto-potty interrupted.

He jumped into gush about a speech my seatmate had given a few years back and how much it changed the path of his career. Sold. I was immediately interested - how could this sweet older man have impacted so greatly another passenger. Keep in mind we're in coach.

Relieved from my dialogue duties I started to hear some buzz in the cabin about my seatmate. Well the starstruck Porto-pottier took the vacant seat in our row - soon to take up permanent residency. They went back and forth as I eavesdropped. Unfortunately the specifics of their identity were never reveled except for their names.

Being the obnoxiously curious Google freak that I am I looked them up and sure-as-you're-born the sky-way celeb was none other than the Nobel prize winning physicist who developed the big bang theory! Whoa! Needless to say - I did not sleep on that flight a wink!