the girl on the plane

on a recent flight to los angeles, I thought the middle seat between me and the guy on the aisle was going to remain vacant, but then the girl arrived. I believe my first thought was 'she looks nervous' but I didn’t dwell on it.  for those who don't know me, I can be chatty (is that an understatement?) but when I travel, I like to crawl inside myself, listen to music, read, do work or watch a quirky foreign film, so the idea of chatting was not high on my list at that moment.  the flight was packed, the ‘not-economy-plus' seat was so cramped - that extra leg room is really worth paying for - so we were all struggling to get organized.  she was trying to figure out the tv screen and how to plug in headsets, and trying to find the power outlet between the seats, and then she said to me with a cute giggle:  “I’ve never been on a plane before.”  (huh?)  me: “wow are you excited to go to los angeles?” she: “actually I’m going to australia”  BRAKE LIGHTS.  whattttt??????? so the story unfolded, she was going to meet a guy she had been communicating with on line for about a year whom she met while playing a game called ‘boom beach’.  she explained it is not a dating app or meet up game, it’s a game like 'words with friends', an app that you play with others via the internet.  through game play conversations, they became friends and then started messaging on facebook  although she looked young, she was actually a 30-year old woman who had grown up in Akron Ohio and all her vacations including childhood family vacations had been road trips.  and now she was flying halfway around the world to meet a guy who she essentially met on the internet!  #amazingstory  I was pretty impressed with her spirit of adventure and of course I needed more info about the on line relationship.  she explained that they have been hanging out together on facetime for months - sometimes spending endless hours together this way.  once they were on facetime for a solid 48 hours straight just talking and spending time together separated by glass. it got my brain thinking about how it’s the exact opposite of the currently trending hook-up culture because they could not actually have a physical relationship on the first date and move on, so naturally they got to know each other in a deeper more meaningful way, learning how each other thinks, their likes and dislikes, what each other's lives are about and potentially their hopes and dreams.  we didn’t talk for the whole flight, as she enjoyed a movie and I got some work done, but before we parted ways, I gifted her with some toothpaste since her big tube was taken by security (as a travel novice, she didn’t know the 3-oz rule), and a bottle of my favorite hair refresher spray so she could meet her man in person smelling a little fresher after the long long flight. as we waited to deplane, I asked about her career and found out she is an bird expert with her own aviary company!  I could not stop myself “wait... you are a BIRD expert who has never FLOWN! don’t you see the irony in that?” we both started laughing and hugged goodbye as if we’d known each other for years. even though I don’t know how the story will unfold, I feel like it’s a real life rom-com in the making and I, for one, am rooting for the happy ending!

me and lindsey (her man is steve for those like me who just need to know!)