Getting to Know a Stranger

I was flying to Toronto recently on Porter Airlines. The actual airline is important. It is a smaller airline. It isn’t new, but it is new to Western Canada. It feels as if I’m a member of a small club. There is only one centre aisle with just 2 seats on either side.

I squeezed by a young lady to get to my window seat. I apologized for all my wiggling about as I settled in for the flight. She smiled, I think. She was wearing a mask. I wasn’t wearing one.

I asked her if she preferred that I wear a mask. She didn’t quite say, ‘Yes, please.’ But I could tell that was where she wanted to go. No problem. As I pulled out my mask, I keep handy just in case when I travel.

And so the lives of two strangers were about to get more interesting.

I don’t want to raise expectations too high. Essentially, we exchanged highlights of our lives. The overlap and the rabbit holes are incredible.

She was an immigrant, and I was born in Canada. But now for the overlap. She is a Researcher, in particular, regarding immigrant women and their experiences. She was passionate about her chosen vocation. So was I. All I wanted to do since I was a young child was to be a social worker – working with people.

She travelled to all 10 provinces and 3 territories. So did I. I have been to the 10 and 3, and I actually resided in 4 provinces and 2 territories.

We shared our travel experiences.

She was interested in my Blog story and asked if she could be on the weekly distribution reminder link. This gave us an unintended but welcome way to stay in touch.

On the return flight home, I sat beside another young lady. I’m sure the smallness of the airline and the 2 seats helped to break the ice. “Have you flown with Porter before,” is a good icebreaker.

She was a social worker and we had lots to talk about. Our conversation strayed to how we prioritize our shopping for non-essential items, such as that new pair of jeans we had our eye on.

My wife and I are interested in wine, so we frequently evaluate our priorities in bottles or cases of wine. For example, a night in a fancy hotel would cost at least two cases of wine. That grounded us in our mutual priorities.

My seatmate had a side business selling pizzas. It rubbed off on her daughter. She measured her priorities in pizzas!

“Please return your chairs and trays to the upright position.” Where did the time go?

Please give this a bit of a think.  How do you measure or factor in life’s priorities? Do you have a system? Is it the same as other family members or friends?

I’m curious about your thoughts. Please share your bit of a think in the comment section below. It will come to me for approval before posting.

Photo by AI. Yes, AI. I thought I’d experiment. The photo is OK. It took me about 4 tries to get it close to what I imagined two strangers might look like.

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And my thanks to St. Albert Seniors Association for making this Blog possible.

Volunteer Blogger

glenn.walmsley@icloud.com