Business Travel | Start With Typewriters

Now and again, my job allows me to travel around the globe. It?s quite strange to hop on a plane and wake up in a foreign country. As fun as it is, it can also be quite lonely, but I always try to be observant and aware of what?s around me.

This is a story from my most recent trip.

When I?m standing in security with my shoes off, pushing my bags through the scanner, I always daze off and forget what I?m doing. I mean, you?re standing there for what feels like eons. No shoes, no belt, no nothing, and the entire time, you?re worried about someone smelling your stinky feet (well, I am, at least). No worries though, you?ll make it through.

?Excuse me, sir, please step over here.?

Really? Did I just get called for a random security check? Yes, I did.

Luckily, it doesn?t last too long, and I put my shoes back on and walk towards my gate.

This is where the cliques come out: the Mac folks all sitting with their iPads, the businessmen in their ill-fitting suits and Blackberries, the moms trying to read their Kindles while their kids run in circles.

Then, there?s me. Oh wait? I have a Mac. I?ll sit with you guys, and we can talk about Mac stuff or something, right? Or I can pretend to read my Monocle magazine so you think I?m a cultured fancy pants.

I sit down and start reading.

?Wait! Wait! Hold plane! Hold plane!?

A small woman is dashing towards the gate.

Why is she asking to hold the plane? We don?t board for another 45 minutes.

She runs through and trips over my duffle, spilling her bottle of water all over the floor.

She bends over to pick up her bottle and proceeds to apologize in broken English.

?I sorry, I sorry.?

As she gets closer, I get a whiff of her B.O. She smells like a European at Disney World.

Eventually, the plane starts boarding, and I throw my luggage into the overhead compartment. I?ve become quite obsessed with?seatguru?so I always go their to find the best seat when I check in. This was one of my little victories.

Aisle seat, 3? of extra legroom ? BINGO!

The seat next to me is empty, too. This is going to be my greatest transcontinental flight ever.

?Excuse me? Hello? Ma?am? Are you sure this is your seat?? I hear a woman?s British accent across the aisle.

?I don?t know, love, I don?t think she knows English,? her husband says.

?Well, she?s sitting in my seat, can you help her??

I look over and realize the woman who tripped over my duffle is sitting in the wrong seat on the other side of the plane.

I roll my eyes and watch the exchange.

Then I remember I have an empty seat next to me. Oh, no.

She?s supposed to be sitting next to me!

I stand up to let her squeeze by, but she doesn?t want to move.

She looks at me with sad eyes. ?Please, sir! Please sir!?

?Please? what? What does she want? Then I see she wants to sit where?I?was sitting and have?me?sit in the middle.

She starts to scream louder and now people on the plane are looking at me.

?Please, sir, please!?

I bite my lip and sat in the middle seat.

She grins from ear to ear and sits down? in the aisle seat.?My?aisle seat. My seat with the extra 3? of legroom.

My seat that was going to make my transatlantic flight amazing.

Whatever. How bad can it be?

As it turns out, pretty bad. She still doesn?t smell the best, and as we take off she screams and grabs my arm as tight as possible.

She?s afraid to fly. This can?t get any worse.

Look, I?m a blessed man. I have a wonderful wife, a good job and nice shoes. But sometimes, I take it all for granted and am more concerned with myself instead of than others.

This woman next to me is terrified. She?s reciting prayers to herself and damn near cutting off my arm circulation with her hand.

Why am I such a jerk?

So I start trying to talk to her.

?Hey, are you okay? Hello? Are you okay??

She starts to loosen her grip on my arm (thank God).

Turns out her name is Arjan, and she?s on her first flight, ever. To London, nonetheless.

She?s going to try and find her son who ran away from her a few years ago. It?s taken this long for her to save enough money to fly and try to find him.

She has no idea where he is, and she doesn?t speak English.

And she was conquering her greatest fear, flying, to try to find him.

Crazy, right?

Kind of puts things in perspective in life.

She wants to see her son, and I all I want is my stupid seat that I had no idea existed until some website?told me about it.

She wins, and I need a wakeup call.

I give her my email address and told her if she needed anything I?d try to help her.

Arjan, if you?re out there, I hope you find your son.

Anyone want my seat?

Source: http://startwithtypewriters.com/2011/07/06/business-travel/

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