"Frequent fliers live by many rules. One of the biggies: Never talk to
seatmates. Put on your headphones, get immersed in reading, or close
your eyes. Given that I am prone to motion sickness, I prefer to spend
as much of a flight asleep as possible, so it works out. Also,
mentioning motion sickness deters chatty neighbors. . . .
"I don't even remember where I was flying from or flying to, but one
evening I got on a plane and took my seat. I was angry about something
that had happened with my boss. And the woman next to me decided to
start a conversation. 'You seem upset,' she said.
"Instead of grabbing the airsickness bag to ward her off, I decided to answer. 'Yeah,' I said. 'My boss is a jerk.'
"She didn't ask me why I was upset. Instead she asked me what it felt
like to be upset. I had never thought about emotions that way and was
intrigued. . . .
"That conversation got me through the flight. My seatmate calmed me down
and made me realize that I was not stuck thinking about office drama all
the time. . . ."
In a recent commentary, writer Annie Logue reflected on some good reasons for talking with fellow travelers.
To access Ms. Logue's complete post, please visit:
U. S. Catholic: Why you should talk to strangers (January 2019)
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