“Blessed is the one who waits in the traveler’s heart for his turning.” —Leonard Cohen, Book of Mercy
I began writing this essayette in the airplane’s exit row after paying $47 for the extra legroom. I am over six feet tall, so it’s worth it. A little earlier, I boarded the plane and passed the short people stretched out in first class.
I hadn’t flown in two years. I was pleased to discover that I no longer have to remove my shoes in the security check—a win’s a win. Plus, in wishing me a good day, the older TSA employee called me “honey,” which always makes me happy.
While waiting for my plane, I like to walk up and down the terminal, pulling my wheeled suitcase, glimpsing examples of the countless ways that we care for one another, from the child riding high on a parent’s shoulders to the woman dozing in her partner’s lap by the gate, from the tattooed man complimenting the coffeeshop employee to the headphone-wearing teenager bending down to retrieve a paperback dropped by an older gentleman.
After the brief thrill of takeoff, I settle in, which is remarkable considering how fast and how high I’m being propelled through the air in a steel cylinder. From 30,000 feet up, the country below looks calm and serene. The flight attendant brings me a cup of cold water. I read my book of prayers by Leonard Cohen.
We hit turbulence on the decent into Raleigh. The guy sitting next to me, who is also very tall, starts to laugh low and steady—”Huh, huh, hey…Huh, huh, hey.” He was watching something amusing on his phone, but I close my eyes and let the sound be a chant of prayer until we touched down, safe and sound.
A thousand miles away, my brother would be picking up his sons from summer camp. I can picture those boys running into his arms just as I know my kids will rush into mine when I come home.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman is the author of the book with Wipf and Stock Publishers titled This Is the Day: A Year of Observing Unofficial Holidays about Ampersands, Bobbleheads, Buttons, Cousins, Hairball Awareness, Humbugs, Serendipity, Star Wars, Teenagers, Tenderness, Walking to School, Yo-Yos, and More. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where he is a student of joy.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
