In fact, though, there was not one angry boar in the bunch.
After a delay caused by another flight’s holdup, followed by a further delay caused by a “little mechanical problem” — yikes, that smell! — followed by an ensuing aircraft switch, our plane finally departed Philadelphia International Airport.
During the hours-long wait before we were finally in the air and heading for Orlando, most of the passengers who were at the gate used the extra time last weekend to get to know one another, if only superficially.
There was flamboyant Dental Assistant, for example, with her maraschino-cherry-red jeans, talonlike red-painted fingernails, deep tan and very white teeth, who, in a voice that seemed to be a few hundred decibels above everyone else’s asked, “So, why ya goin’ to Florida?”
When she learned my husband and I were making a whirlwind trip to give our daughter some hugs, she counseled: “Twelve years since my muth-uh moved to Florida and I still miss huh. I do anything to see huh. You do anything to see ya dawt-tuh. So you wait here fawr howevuh long it takes, cuz you want to see huh, right? I’m right. Am I right?! I know I’m right.”
There was Social Studies Teacher who, with a group of other educators, was returning to Volusia County, Fla., after touring some of Pennsylvania’s historic and tourist sites.
Gettysburg was his favorite stop, he said; but he liked Valley Forge and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He was ready to be home, though. “Guess it will be another night without tucking my kids into bed,” he noted.
And SST was hungry.
Yikes, that smell! Onions?
Ah, one final Pennsylvania indulgence: a Philly cheese steak. Harry Olivieri was likely smiling from above. (See related story, page G9.)
We also talked with Handsome Motivational Speaker and Author. (We actually learned his name; he keeps a supply of business cards at the ready ’cause you never know who you might meet at an airport.) Darrell “Coach D” Andrews wrote “How To Find Your Passion and Make a Living at It” and had a story published in “Chicken Soup for the African-American Soul,” among other works.
He travels all over the United States, giving pep talks to salespeople, teachers and school administrators. “Right now,” though, “I could use someone to motivate me,” he admitted, half in jest, as he was beginning to wilt underneath his starched shirt, tie and business suit.
He was still recovering from — and savoring memories of — a camping trip he and his wife had just taken with their young children. “I want to give them good times,” he remarked with a look that said there was a part of him still back at camp.
And then there was Public Displays of Affection Couple.
Well, the truth is no one got to know them because, well, they were rather preoccupied.
Plus, the female half of PDA had really hairy armpits and … yikes, that smell!
OK, so there was a passenger who made a stink following the flight delays after all; but neither she nor her partner were complaining.
Anne Koenig is editor of the Living section. Write to her at akoenig@lnpnews.com.
Talkback on LancasterOnline
Welcome to the new TalkBack on LancasterOnline. Please use the comment box below to share your opinion on this
article. If you would prefer to use the previous TalkBack forums instead, please use this link.
