Seat choice on an airplane can be 50-50 when traveling alone; it can go very badly or incredibly well, depending on your seating neighbor. A recent online post shares people’s most fascinating seating partners on a flight.
1. Combat Fatigue? No, Just Marriage
One contributor recalls a trip his father took where he sat next to a Navy SEAL on a flight. The combatant shared incredible stories during the journey, including “being dropped into Grenada during the fiasco in the ’80s.” However, his father noticed the vet had been nervous the entire time, knocking back Scotch and sweating. When quizzed about why such a tough guy was so nervous on a plane, his reply was hilarious: “I’m on my way to my wedding.”
2. Two Hobbits on a Plane
A Tolkien fan reading her Lord of The Rings trilogy shared a flight with a solo traveler: a ten-year-old girl who remarked on how much she loved the commenter’s bookmark. The girl revealed her edition of The Hobbit before the Tolkienistas enjoyed a rare flight together. “As I was about to stand up and head down the aisle, she suddenly leaned over and enveloped me in the biggest of hugs,” says the passenger, “and said, ‘I’m an odd, different girl, but I think that’s okay; different means special. Thanks for being my friend!'”
3. A Chance Encounter
The following story involves a Swedish traveler who enjoyed trips to Chicago as a child “to visit her father’s family.” After getting her novel out for the flight, a young boy beside his father asked what she was reading. “I went on and on, retelling the plot, pointing out my favorite passages, commenting on the characters, etc.,” explains the observer. When she had finished her “soliloquy,” the old man turned and thanked her. “It turned out it was the author, traveling with his son. I spent the entire visit living high on this experience, telling my father about it.”
4. A Walking Angel
An Irish American citizen speaks of one flight where he was lucky enough to be upgraded to business class and sat next to a lady with a “pleasant housewife vibe.” After chatting, he discovered she was a Harvard-educated doctor who had volunteered and raised funds to save a Chinese orphan’s eyesight. After discovering the young girl would return to squalid orphanage conditions after the operation, the Irishman reveals what she did next. “The doctor adopted her,” says the commenter.
5. Hand in Hand
A plucky young man asked flight attendants to sit him beside a cute lady sharing his flight. Once seated, he discovered she feared flying and offered the nervous woman his hand during takeoff. “She never let go through all of our little small talk about everything and nothing during our six-hour flight,” says the gentleman. However, it didn’t end there: “She has been my best friend, co-worker, and wife for almost eight years now.”
6. Oh, Canada
A Torontonian lady who had booked a 25th birthday weekend in Vegas found herself beside a gentle elderly man. “He was one of the friendliest humans I ever met. We started chatting,” she recalls. “He told me about serving in the army and about his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and what they were all doing in life.” They became email friends, and he would send her daily riddles and jokes. Sadly, they just stopped one day. “It’s been a while now; I don’t know how he’s doing, but I hope wherever he is, he is lighting up a room,” she concludes.
7. Designer Laptop or Laptop Designer?
Another thread describes a passenger sitting by a man working on a laptop inches from his face. “I soon learned that I was sitting next to Glenn Edens, who designed the first laptop computer while at GRiD Systems, a company he co-founded in 1979,” explains the commenter. “I don’t recall the name of the condition Glenn had, but what struck me was the efficiency and speed with which Glenn was able to use his machine nonetheless.”
8. Not Today, Kid; Not Today
Imagine being seated next to a highly competitive nine-year-old who loved beating adults at video games — this happened to an Indian passenger. “Things got interesting when I started playing games on the inflight entertainment system,” jokes the poster. “The kid would switch to whatever game I was playing, and within a few minutes, he would cross my score and then look at me scornfully.” I would take that kid down!
9. Considerate Parents
When finding their airline seat on a long-haul flight once, a traveler discovered a goody bag with a kind poem attached. The note, written by considerate parents, explained how Annabelle (the infant) was only 16 months old but didn’t always do what she was told, so she apologized in advance for any disturbance. The goody bag contained candy and earplugs for the noise. “For the rest of my life, I will never forget little Annie and her thoughtful mother and father for the way they touched my life for a few hours,” says the thankful contributor.
10. Impromptu Freebird
Just imagine meeting Lynyrd Skynyrd on a flight and not recognizing them! One London-based scientist did this when he met the band on their way home from a world tour in 1996. When this passenger revealed his lack of Skynyrd knowledge, they treated him to an impromptu gig with an acoustic guitar and drumsticks. I proceeded to get a greatest hits of songs concert including “Freebird” and “Sweet Home Alabama” — and a lot of ‘You must know this one,'” jokes the commenter. “So, I got my own dedicated concert by Lynyrd Skynyrd at 40,000ft.”
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