Strangers on a Plane

I stole that title from my buddy Rick, the Ubermensch, who writes 48Facets. He sat next to a guy on a plane ride and was sorely tempted to ignore him. But someohow they chatted...and it was transforming.

I recently had a nice talk with my seat mate on my trip back to Philadelphia from Denver. We talked about celebrity gossip, organizational communication, and our favorite restaurants. I noted that she had finished one book on the flight and was onto another. I commented that she must have been enrolled in the Evelyn Woods Speed Reading class. She said, nope, just a quick read. And then gave me the book -- Honeymoon by James Patterson. "Pass it along when you're done with it."

That was pretty cool. A little gift from a stranger. That was fun. She gave me a People Magazine, too. (It was my day, I guess.) I should take Rick's advice and talk to more strangers on a plane. At a minimum, I'll get more reading material. ;-)


Strangers on a Blog, or, Can I Ask You a Favor?
Rick's relatively new to the blogging world, and if you have a minute or two, maybe you could click on over and throw him what Albert calls "linky love" at http://48facets.wordpress.com/ . Leave him a comment. Tell him that Horton Hears a Who. Remember what it was like when we all started blogging and those first few regular readers started coming by and leaving comments? Exhilarating. Here are a few of my faves on 48Facets:

• People Watching on a Sunday Morning. SNIPPET: Then Jesse Jackson strolls by. He is in a long dark coat and a dark, gray hat with a wide brim. He nods to individuals making eye contact with him, sometimes murmuring “good morning”. No one was trying to shake his hand or interrupt his journey. Conversely he was not playing the politician or trying to be noticed. No body guards or handlers. Just walking down the concourse.
  
  I may be the only one who feels something in the air when in the presence of someone famous. Though I never spoke to him, I felt as if by being near someone well known I was special by association.


• I Have Always Depended on the Kindness of Strangers. SNIPPET: Well, not in a Blanche DuBois kind of way. Most times strangers at best ignore you or get angry over the most modest of perceived slights. So I was surprised and pleased to the point of tears when yesterday a stranger went out of her way to be nice.
  
  I have an autistic sister. She lives in a group home not to far away. While my Mom still does the heavy lifting for Sandy, my siblings and I take turns entertaining her on a Sunday afternoon. Sandy has limited speech, some behavioral quirks and will never be able to live on her own. Some days she is in more control of herself than others. Yesterday was a little less than more.


• Good-Bye Marty. SNIPPET: He was inquisitive about what was going on in our lives without being nosy. In my adult years, he and Joan opened their home to me for Passover for several years when I had no place to go for the second Seder. It was always a treat for me.

Okay, As Long as I Have Your Attention and You Can Feel the Love Tonight
LiquidTreats is fired back up and in the style business. It's a great read, and if you feel the linky love in your heart -- and I know you do -- how about throwing some link karma to Sarah and Jess at http://www.liquidtreats.com ?