My Silent Seat Mate
On the airplane today, I was sitting next to a very handsome gentleman. I automatically assumed he was 'nice and interesting.' I looked for an opening to start a conversation to see where it would go. He was busy – busy with his blackberry, busy with his book, busy with his newspaper. Even when we had lunch, he was busy with his meal.
I got it. The sign was palpable: Keep OUT!
I know what that's like, often imagining myself pulling down a shade that says: Leave Me Alone! (Especially after an intense training weekend, I seem to require time out, time alone, time to re-group and incorporate the experience.) So I left him alone.
At the end of the meal, he glanced my way, no words, held out his package of two Milano cookies – as an offering. I told him I didn't want mine either. Fifteen minutes later, I passed my cookies on to the guy across the aisle. Once he took my cookies, I reached over to my silent seat mate, took his cookies and passed them on to the same guy. HAH!
Interesting to note that good-looking people are often accorded 'good' qualities. Seems like it would be easy for them to get used to being thought of that way, without having to actually earn those qualities, making it easy for them to skate through life. Whereas people who may not be so good-looking often build their character themselves, without relying on their looks. Some people have both.
I really have no clue about my seat-mate – good-looking? yes! shallow? don't know!
I used to have a friend who would draw the conclusion that nice looking people were nice. She’d see someone on the news and comment that he looks too nice to kill or steal or whatever it was that got him on the news. Occasionally I’d point out that not all monster’s look like such but it didn’t stick. Also interesting is how different taste is…when I say someone looks good and my daughter or grand daughter usually disagree.