"A pleasant companion, reduces the length of a journey." - Publilius Syrus

PHILADELPHIA, PA, U.S.A.


I arrived at the boarding gate in Philadelphia three hours before departure, that's forever in 'airport time'. Shortly after arriving at the boarding gate, an elderly man, with an elaborate walking cane, carrying a bulky backpack and a department store bag that contained a heavy coat, sat on the seat next to me. Almost immediately he got up, proceeded to pick up his bags, and asked me to save the seat for him while he went to the men's restroom. I readily agreed and told him he can leave his bags behind and I'll look after it. He looked at me breifly as if trying to judge if I can be trusted with his personal belongings, and asked me "Are you sure?", I nodded my head, "Ofcourse".

When he returned, he thanked me and said "If you are going to Manchester, you need a coat", probably noticing that all I had on was a football (soccer) jersey and jeans. I told him that my final destination was Edinburgh. He then said "Ahhh... you need two coats then." I laughed and was immediately at ease with him. I reached out my hand and introduced myself, he introduced himself as John. John is from a town just outside of Manchester, confirming that the further you go out of London, the friendlier the English are. We talked about a lot of different things, Scotland and what he described as "people speak funny there" (coming from an Englishman I laughed generously), football and Manchester United, the notoriously wet U.K. weather, tennis and the 2012 London Olympics, among many things, laughing a lot in the course of our conversation. On the boarding gate TV, CNN was broadcasting the 'historic' meeting between the President and both the major party presidential candidates to talk about the $700B financial bailout, I told him it looks pretty bleak. He said that it was bad in the UK as well, because some of the financial institutions took a risk with sub-prime mortgage loans too, but not as bad, he said, "When America is knocked down, we limp", tapping his cane in quick succession. I smiled at his self-deprecating humor. I found out that he is returning from spending two weeks in Boston, visiting his daughter and granddaughter. He disclosed that his granddaughter has leukemia, and is in pretty bad shape. I asked him if he is planning to visit them again in the near future, he said that he will as soon as he recuperates enough to travel after his leg operation. I was surprised by his openness to divulge things that are so personal to a complete stranger, and the same time, how jovial and optimistic he is in spite of the challenges in his life. John was able to pre-board and before he left, I wished him a comfortable flight and told him "maybe we will bump into each other on the plane or on the ground in Manchester". He replied, "I'll bump into things for sure", tapping his cane again. I couldn't help but smile. Without noticing, the three hours went by so quickly.

It's people like John, who make traveling a more rewarding experience for the rest of us. Their friendly demeanor, quick wit, willingness to share of themselves and their life stories, making the mundane portions of our journey extraordinary. I hope to meet more people like John on this trip.

I never did bump into John again on the plane or on the ground in Manchester; but, I am sure whenever something reminds me of him, another friendly elderly gentleman perhaps on another trip somewhere or hear the quick 'tap, tap, tap' of a walking cane, I'll say a little prayer for his granddaughter and one for him as well, that John's legs remain strong enough to travel, and he continue to enrich the life of fellow travelers. He clearly left a lasting impression on me.