Wisdom in the Air.
I’m writing this on a Delta flight sitting next to an 80-year old woman. This woman smiles at me. I smile back and then, meekly, turn to my lap which isn’t all that interesting. Connecting with a stranger, randomly assigned to you in the air is a truly liminal experience, right?! Especially when you know you have three hours ahead of you.
Out of the blue, she says to me, "I’d rather be 40,000 feet in the air than 6 feet underground." I look up from my uninteresting lap, glance over to her and she’s radiantly beaming at me. A teardrop starts to form in my eye. I hope to be this woman someday. This time, instead of looking at my lap, I stare straight into her eyes. She’s a wise-cracker, but more importantly, she’s a loving sage.
I hold her hand. She hums, "We shall overcome…." I wonder whether I took magic mushrooms before this flight. I ask about her life and, whoa, here comes the gusher! Marilyn has been around the block a few times. I’m enraptured by her story...or is it the myth of Marilyn? Either way, I love her.
At some point, after a few more tears, I tell her I need to write something. I pull out this laptop and write this post about my slightly unbelievable experience.
