Serendipitous Meetings

Have you ever had a totally unplanned series of moves/events that led to a fortuitous connection with someone you didn't know existed, but are glad they do? Of course you have. I had one of those tonight.

I was Way Tired – on the final leg of my trip from Christchurch NZ – Los Angeles airport. Right before we took off, I noticed that my section of the row was full. Across the aisle from me, only one person was seated in a 3-seat section. So I moved over to occupy the aisle seat. Better. We made it out to the beginning of the runway, two lights weren't operating properly, we went back to the terminal to find out what was wrong. Good by me. A plane not functioning impeccably is not a plane in which I am happy to hurtle through the stratosphere. My thanks go to the company policy of safety first.

Back at the gate, we waited while people swarmed through and around the plane. An hour went by. Still no diagnosis regarding what was wrong, or when we would be leaving. I was getting hungry. I asked if I could de-plane and go eat. "Sure," they said, "stay close." So I asked the woman by the window if she  wanted anything from Starbucks, which was situated right across the corridor from where we checked in. No, she was fine. I left, got a sandwich, hustled back to the check-in place; the plane was still there. I scarfed my food (breaking one of my personal disciplines), and hurried back through the jetway to my seat – and waited, snoozed, waited.

The woman by the window seemed very serene, taking the whole adventure in stride without any fuss. Between my snoozes, we started chatting – friendly, easy to connect with, an inherent dignity about her. When we got the news that the plane would not be flying till 8 or 9 pm, we de-planed, got re-ticketed for the 6:15 flight, found a couple of chairs and continued talking.

As it turns out, we have a mutual interest in forwarding people's lives; both of us having made careers in that pursuit. It looks as if we could make a difference in each other's goals. We'll see. And even if nothing else happens, it was gratifying to meet someone else on a similar path.