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Anecdote with Paste - September 22, 2009
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Dear Readers,
I don't enjoy chatting with people on airplanes. That is my time to read, to rest, to tune out, and to be unreachable. I try, in turn, to leave my seatmates alone, to extend to them the same courtesy of privacy and quiet.
On one trip, though, I glanced past my neighbor to see what was happening outside, and a familiar face caught my eye. I'm afraid I stared a little too hard because, annoyed, the man shook his magazine like it was an old newspaper before lifting it to block me out of his line of sight. I heard a sharp exhalation. I slouched away from the armrest and gazed, defeated, up the opposite aisle. I had forgotten to bring reading material, the space was too cramped to write in, and I was too awake to sleep.
After a while, he closed the magazine. As I recall, it was Paste, which I had never read but had heard a fair amount about. I wanted to make sure I'd seen right, so I asked, gingerly, "Do you mind if I take a look at that, when you're done?" He peered dubiously at me, so I put on a bright smile and exclaimed the truth, which was, "I think I saw my friend's picture!" He grunted and shoved the magazine halfway in my direction while pretending to look away. I thanked him effusively. I could tell that he was keeping an eye on me as I flipped through, although whether out of curiosity or dread, I don't know. Either way, as soon as I saw the article about Josh Ritter, I felt compelled to explain myself. Also, I was excited about the writeup, because I'm well aware of how hard it is to get into those magazines. I pointed at the largest picture and, perhaps a little too loudly, declared, "I know him! We've worked together! He's great!"
No response. I could hear my neighbor thinking, "Some imagination on that one."
Keenly aware that I was inconveniencing the man, I checked my enthusiasm, gently closed the magazine, and returned it. Relieved that I had no further plans to converse, he proceeded to stuff the magazine into the seatback pocket in front of him and doze off for the remainder of the flight.
Hilary
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