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Flying Solo
These days, air travel is mostly annoying, but as I prepare for an early flight to D.C., I still harbor a tiny reservoir of wonder about who will be seated next to me. It actually happened once, that there was an attractive man across the aisle with whom I chatted, swapped phone numbers and eventually went on to have a passionate relationship. He lived on a farm down a dusty road in what I perceived as the middle of nowhere, and as a die-hard city girl, there was never much hope for it to last. But the sex was awesome. So you never know. Have you ever found romance on a plane?
Illustration by Franco Matticchio
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FIRST PERSON SINGULAR is a guide to surviving, thriving and sometimes just getting through a single day. Created by Wendy Braitman (more…)
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I didn’t think those kinds of things ever really happened…you just made me smile! 🙂
All I ever find on a plane are those guys that get tanked at the airport bar before boarding the plane, and the screaming children sitting behind me who kick my seat. I’m always grateful when the seat next to me is empty, but that doesn’t happen much anymore.
Every once in awhile, miracles happen.
Wow, another great experience, Wendy. What a memory to savour and share.
My experience has been more like Stacey’s. The last time I was on a plane, the (attractive) guy initiated a conversation. Although he talked a lot about himself, the dealbreaker was when he said to his friend, “Dude, I gotta go, we’re gonna push” (ie time for takeoff). Ugh.
I agree with Stacey that most of the time I’m really grateful if the seat next to me is free.
I must confess that even though I too like having an empty seat next to me, I have had some marvelous seatmates on some long-haul flights, even though none of them have led to romance. There was the German army helicopter pilot (cute, but married). There was an impressive business man who was remarkably encouraging about my (distinctly non-business-y) academic career. And there was the woman who had save for years to afford the European trip she was on; she was an inspiration.
I’m just discovering your blog, Wendy. Good stuff! While my similar experience is not from someone I met on a plane, it shares a striking resemblance! I was 30 and he was maybe 24. He rode bulls for a living. He was tall, handsome, chewed tobacco (yuck; should have been my first clue) and built like a fine piece of modern day machinery! We went on a few dates and then he invited me to his house. He pulled the truck up to a gate, turned the engine off and said, “We’ll have to walk from here.” I was puzzled, yet amused so I followed him to a single wide trailer in the middle of a pasture!
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a horse girl and I have spent many hours in a pasture. I was intriqued but not shocked. Well, we went in his humble abode and he popped a top. I had to go to the bathroom. He pointed me in the direction and then said, “Don’t mind the hole, just straddle it; just last week a possum came through there.”
Ok, it was at that moment that I realized I was wasting my time. Jim Bob was nice and handsome but I could not fathom squatting more than once just to use his toilet!