Yesterday was Jim’s birthday. Today, I am on a flight to Denver to start two weeks of solid travel. (However, I have nothing on my sister who between her and her husband to be have been on the road for almost a year straight.) I think that I am finally getting the hang of all this flying business. I bought myself a purse/bag the other day that holds a bit more than my normal purse so I can fit all my work that I hope to do on the plane (even though right now I am blogging). It made it better getting through security. My suitcase that I bought a couple of months ago (when I found out I would be traveling this much is much lighter thanks to my new bag. I am flying Southwest which proved to be a easy thing this morning – plus their concourse was filled with electronic outlets and leather seats – it was the frequent flyer place for United (which I can only get in if I am with my boss). I made a note to myself to fly Southwest more….I can get to all the DOOR cities using it except Atlanta. I didn’t go through the expert travel security lane however; leaving that for my next trip – try something new next time.
Southwest doesn’t have assigned seating which paid off for me – as I got an aisle seat in the back. Almost as the door was closing and after I said to the woman in the window seat “we lucked out”, a woman came to our row and wanted to sit in the middle seat. Wanted may not be the term – it was the last seat on the plane other than the middle seat in the row across from us that her husband was taking. This woman looks a lot like my Grandma Beam and from our conversation a bit ago has her same spirit. She obviously likes to travel, likes jewelry, and isn’t afraid of doing silly stuff or looking silly. A little bit ago, she leaned down to get something out of purse (properly placed under the seat) and her head actually went under the seat in front of us. Then she comes up as if for breathe, and dives back under saying something that I am not really listening to so therefore can’t understand. I finally understand that while diving into her purse she has lost her ring. Not clear how she might notice as she still has rings on each finger, but she has lost a ring. She sits for a moment; then catches the attendant who humorous states “Thanks, my husband will be grateful that he doesn’t need to buy me a ring this year.” Then suggest that after we finish our drinks (water for me, Coke for her) we should stand and try to find the ring. So I gulp my water, the Coke goes on the window seat woman’s tray and I stand up and Grandma looking woman gets down on hands and knees looking for her ring. This is so something Grandma B would have done. Grandma would not have asked for me to do it – well maybe – but I have seen Grandma do stuff like this. After me standing in the attendant’s area in the back of the plane for 5 minutes holding the bubbling laughter back, which has nothing really to do with this poor woman but rather remembering the memories of my feisty grandma, the ring was not found. After about 20 minutes, about the time it has taken me to write this – the grandma B look alike asked for me to get up so she could go to the bathroom. I assured her this was ok, as she was “so sorry I was sitting next to an old woman”. While she was gone, the attendant came and looked for the ring and found it. Handed it to the woman’s husband and celebrated. Now, while she was in the restroom I noticed the book that the window woman was reading “Three Cups of Tea” and told her that I heard good things about it. She told me it was for school. We talked about it and then she mentioned that she was going to Alamosa. “Really? I used to work there, 500 feet from the airport.” I said. She is going to the Adams State, the college there, and started asking lots of questions about such things as how to get to the plane in Denver, does she need to recheck luggage, etc. Small world! I shared what I knew from flying from Alamosa to Denver.
This is way more entertaining than last month’s launch of Krista’s laptop through security less scary and no shouting required!
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