The Old Man in Seat 12B

"Respect your elders: they graduated high school without Google or Wikipedia!" -Unknown

I had boarded the flight early as I normally do, settling into seat 12C. As I fly quite frequently, my airline status allows me to board early. It is a seat on the aisle near the front of the plane, one of my favorite spots. The location can be great for people watching as seasoned flyers and first timers all jostle down the narrow aisle looking for their assigned seat.

Today would be no different I thought, a normal flight to Boston, my usual routine. After settling in I would get my headphones on, my iPad opened to my favorite music and settle in for two hours of reading. Yet today would be a day when I would not do the usual, for the old man in 12B would delight my day.

He found a way to place his items in the overhead compartment and fumbled a bit getting into his seat. My thoughts at first were that he was new to flying. It also seemed odd with his crumpled trench coat, a well used jacket but neatly finished with an outdated tie. By the leathery look of his skin and deep wrinkles, I imagined his age to be well into his eighties.

As I finished up some business on my iPhone, he gestured and remarked at how connected we are these days. He certainly wasn't against technology but he said we never seem to talk anymore or better yet, we never seem to listen to each other much anymore. So with that, I shut off my phone, put away my iPad and headphones in order to listen.

The lady in 12A was not too sure what to think of this old gentleman as he told me his tales. She had a look of skepticism on her face but to me, I found him fascinating. The stories of his travels to many parts of the world having worked for a large mining company were amazing. But many times he and his wife of nearly sixty years traveled for leisure.

They would travel many times to South America, taking in the adventures that traveling outside of your comfort zone can be. He gave me detailed depictions of the places they had been; the food, the music and the people. Remembering those travels with his wife brought a smile to his face.

You see, she had died three years ago when cancer came back a second time. Quietly he spoke not to me but to his own thoughts about her. It was ongoing medical work that had him heading to Boston from Charleston, South Carolina where he lived. The day was nearly half over and the flight only forty-five minutes from landing when he drifted into sleep.

I sat and thought of the stories he had told me. Much of what was said could have been gleaned from National Geographic magazines or any local library. I am sure the lady in 12A felt he was spinning a tale. But I chose to believe the old man in 12B. I chose to allow his adventures to inspire me to seek more out of life.

He passed onto me what he knew; a real Tango in Argentina, seeing Table Mountain from a boat offshore of Capetown, having high tea in the lobby of the Peninsula Hotel while in Hong Kong, or taking in a Turkish bath at the Danubius Hotel Gellert in Budapest. Each one was crystal clear in his descriptions and it appeared that he wanted to pass his joy of each one to me.

The plane landed and as all travelers do, we go our separate ways. I shook his hand and thanked him for the conversation. He never gave me his name, but he smiled and thanked me for my time, for listening I suppose. As I left though he said to me, "find more time to experience the adventure of life."

I learned a lot from an elderly man in seat 12B. I learned about living life from a man I will probably never see again. I learned by listening.

Stay inspired my friends.