frequent flyer miles
Today I fly to Maryland, my birth state, the place my parents, sister and nephew still live. I am not a nervous flyer per se, but this may be because I tend to drink before I fly in hopes of passing out before take off. This has happened a few times and they have been the best flights. Most often though, I am awake to feel every shift and shimmy of turbulence. My nerves shot by the time I land. Hey, family, I need to lay down, nice to see you.
Sometimes I can read, very few times I've held conversations with the stranger next to me, other times listening to my headphones has passed the time. Today, I have forgot my walkman, so I will attempt the first and remain cautious of entering into the latter.
The best conversation I had was with a middle-aged black woman who was flyer with her service organization after attending a conference. She began to fidget and exclaim quietly what her stomach was feeling as she was shaken out of the book she was attempting to read. "We're experiencing a normal amount of turbulence," I muttered as her hand gripped the rest between us. "Really?" she questioned with her first hint of optimism. "Yes," I confirmed as a veteran flyer.
Our chat grew from there and we uncovered a mutual love for music and admiration for small coffeehouses/jazz clubs that played music you could listen to and not bleed from the ears. She recommended places for me to check out if I was ever in her neck of the woods, though time has erased both the names of the places and her place on earth. I remember telling her about my writing and about my aspirations. I remember her telling me that I was sure to be a success. I remember feeling her confidence, probably the same she felt when I told her that "Yes, we were only experiencing a normal amount of turbulence." It was something I have never forgotten and something I look forward to thinking about as I ready myself in the bar to fly.
What I have realized in the three days I have begun writing this blog is that there are many moments like this in my life I should delve further into. My aspiration is for this to continue and for a collection to come out of it...even if no one is reading for now.
- jaw
Sometimes I can read, very few times I've held conversations with the stranger next to me, other times listening to my headphones has passed the time. Today, I have forgot my walkman, so I will attempt the first and remain cautious of entering into the latter.
The best conversation I had was with a middle-aged black woman who was flyer with her service organization after attending a conference. She began to fidget and exclaim quietly what her stomach was feeling as she was shaken out of the book she was attempting to read. "We're experiencing a normal amount of turbulence," I muttered as her hand gripped the rest between us. "Really?" she questioned with her first hint of optimism. "Yes," I confirmed as a veteran flyer.
Our chat grew from there and we uncovered a mutual love for music and admiration for small coffeehouses/jazz clubs that played music you could listen to and not bleed from the ears. She recommended places for me to check out if I was ever in her neck of the woods, though time has erased both the names of the places and her place on earth. I remember telling her about my writing and about my aspirations. I remember her telling me that I was sure to be a success. I remember feeling her confidence, probably the same she felt when I told her that "Yes, we were only experiencing a normal amount of turbulence." It was something I have never forgotten and something I look forward to thinking about as I ready myself in the bar to fly.
What I have realized in the three days I have begun writing this blog is that there are many moments like this in my life I should delve further into. My aspiration is for this to continue and for a collection to come out of it...even if no one is reading for now.
- jaw
posted by Joshua Aaron Weinstein at 3:08 PM
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