I usually avoid talking to strangers when I go to the
airport; perhaps it’s a sign of the changes I’m in for in the following year
that within minutes of embarking for London I met one to whom I spent at least an hour talking, and that we hugged when I got up to board my flight.
Kathy admittedly did most of the legwork; she initiated the conversation and kept it going beyond the early stalls.
While I’d been mildly reluctant at first, I soon found myself thoroughly
enjoying her company.
She’s a former teacher and current interfaith chaplain on a
pilgrimage to a German spa town to meet with a group of other
spiritually-inclined people and to discuss their faiths (and presumably their
doubts). We began by talking about our respective travel plans and by the time
the announcement came that we are now ready to start boarding Flight VS12 to London Heathrow she
had told me what she wants to ask God when she dies.
One of my fears concerning this adventure is that my
propensity for shyness might preclude me from taking full advantage of all that
will surround me in London. With this as my reminder to connect with more people, think I’ll be okay.
*Special thanks to Steven Hyden and Charlie Pierce
for turning me onto R.E.M. and for the idea for the aforementioned accompaniment,
respectively.
