on casual friendships with strangers and the fragility of life.
thoughts about mundanity.
Happy Saturday, kinfolk.
There isn’t much I can add to the tragedy at DCA. My colleagues and good homies, Edward Russell over at Airport Architecture and David Slotnick at The Layover, can articulate the crash and subsequent investigations far better than I can.
Instead, I want to reflect on human fragility and the interpersonal relationships of strangers. I apologize in advance that this probably won’t be the most well-written or thought-out piece—I’m simply writing what I feel without editing myself.
Casual conversations at the boarding gate with a fellow passenger: “Where are you headed?” “How’s the weather there?” “Was the lounge packed?” “You think we’ll leave on time?”
The groans and silent looks you give the stranger in the boarding line when your flight’s been delayed. The slight smile you give to a gate agent working the boarding area to indicate to them: “I get it. They might not get it — but I know you’re doing your best.”
The nervous chuckles with a flight attendant as you drop your Biscoff cookie between seats, quick, hasty apologies as you maneuver arms and legs over a seatmate to get to the lavatory.
Airports and airplanes are their own little communities where people are (usually) on their best behavior. There is something to be said about forming a brief community with people you’ll likely never interact with again.
The crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 reminds us that the mundanity of everyday life—flying, commuting, casual conversations with strangers—can go from routine to remarkable in an instant. The people we encounter in the normal course of our days can be the people we are forever intertwined with.
Our days are filled with decisions and moments that we give little thought to, and even the most minor decisions—such as taking a later flight or a meeting running later than usual—can alter the course of our lives.
Like landing. You’re almost there. You’ve almost made it. It’s a giddy feeling to be able to see the tops of houses, make out cars and trucks on the road, and catch a glimpse of a soccer match or a football game overhead.
If you have Wi-Fi during the flight, you might pre-order an Uber ride to ensure its perfect arrival time. You may also have already ordered UberEats or DoorDash to arrive hot and fresh just before you get home.
You do these things with the expectation that everything will be alright—that the ordinary interactions of our lives will remain unremarkable. And they usually, almost always, are.
(Image credit: Philip Myrtorp on Unsplash)
I know tw0 women who met their husbands sitting next to them on a plane and they are still married. A smile never hurts anyone. My preferred method in how to act in public until proven otherwise and sometimes it is, sadly.