The Airport Tar Heel Story

So...as I mentioned in my previous post, I had a significant delay on an already late flight on my trip home.  I had been up a while with very little sleep the night before and so began to get a little loopy while waiting for a final decision on my last flight.  I had made it to the gate with plenty of time and had already been waiting a while when they made the first announcement about the delay in flight.  The gate had become pretty crowded.  The row I was sitting at was not very long, only about four seats when an older man sat at the extreme end of the row from me.  I had my iPod in as well as reading material making me look very busy and unavailable for conversation.  This did not stop the man from trying.  He was obviously casting around trying to find someone to talk to and would insert himself into other conversations without invitation.  There was a lot of superficial moaning about the flight delay and several phone calls to random people he apparently hadn't spoken with in a while.  I vigilantly kept my eyes on my book so as not to make eye contact and become another unwilling conversationalist.

Eventually, and inevitable, someone finally sat down with us, a young Mexican woman.  She chose the seat next to me leaving space between her and the older guy.  As soon as she sat down, he tried to talk to her. She responded with a few quick words in Spanish which after a few more tries on his part finally made him give up.  I observed everything with a small internal giggle.  Not long after, the flight crew announced our plane unserviceable and the need to switch planes/gates.  This is where my loopy factor kicked in and the first time I have ever done this in my life.  I started a conversation with the Mexican girl in Spanish!

We started chatting about where we were from, why we were flying to Raleigh, about Mexico, our kids, etc. as we joined the new line to board the new plane.  In this line we stood near another older man wearing a Tar Heel hat.  He obviously did not speak Spanish and had no idea what we were talking about.  That did not prevent him from trying to join our conversation.  I don't remember what his initial comments were, but they were all very unrelated to our conversation.  At first I tried translating a little for my new friend because I wasn't sure what her English level was and together we laughed about his randomness.  Like I said, I was pretty loopy at this point as well as emotionally stretched with the delay, so I found pretty much everything funny.  He kept interjecting and we kept sort of responding and talking.  At first it was innocent enough, but of course he started to make some veiled hints about what we should do later that night and his current single status and I started employing my usual tactic of pretending not to hear.  Finally, they announced boarding and we were able to separate.  My new friend and I exchanged info before she boarded; we were on separate ends of the plane.

Our new Tar Heel fan friend boarded before either of us.  I think he was some kind of special member or something as he was at the front of the plane and we each had to pass him to get to our seats.  I was honestly worried he would try to pinch me as I passed and tried to walk quickly up the aisle.  No such event occurred and I gratefully sank into my seat.

I'm obviously too busy eating to deal with creepy old guys.

Punch line: Later during the flight I got up to use the bathroom in the back of the plane and on my way to the bathroom I passed my new friend.  She was sitting at the window on a row of three.  She waved and then gestured emphatically next to her.  The flight was not full, so our Tar Heel fan had taken the initiative to move to the back of the plane and found the open seat next to her.  Thankfully he was at least polite enough to sit on the aisle and was passed out when I walked past.  Who knows what kind of exchange transpired before I found her.  I've never been so grateful for a full row on a plane in my life.

Conclusion: A lot of weird people in airports, but you get to meet some pretty cool people too.  Maybe I should be a little more open to conversation when I travel by myself.  Just not too open.  Especially not with older men travelling alone.  Ewww.