An airplane ride is a fascinating and truly unique social situation. Hundreds of strangers shut themselves up in tiny seats for hours on end, eating bad food and watching less than desired movies. There's no where to go and nothing to do but pass the time with books, music, and crossword puzzles.
Sometimes you are able to make a friend with your seat mate for the few hours you have together. You go through the motions of small talk and share the leftover dessert you don't want to eat. This comes in handy when you are forced to displace them to relieve your bowels and the stiffess in your legs again. You may even be lucky enough to hear a little of their story.
As you glance around, you see the zombie effect take over your fellow passengers as they shift around trying to get comfortable enough to fall into another dozing stupor. This is one thing you share in common.
As the characters flit in and out of the movie screen, you look at your watch and realize that the eternity it took to get you this far from solid ground is barely half over. So you close your eyes or pull out a book--something, anything, to continue passing the time in limbo from here to there. Which happens to be the only other commonality you share with the hundreds in your midst: where you are going and where you have been.
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