Dallas to Tulsa

If you haven't read about my trip out to Philadelphia here, it is a prerequisite for reading this post.

On my last leg home from Philadelphia, I found myself sitting next to the most precocious 10 year old girl from Ft. Worth.  Her name was Tabitha and she was traveling alone to Tulsa to see her grandmother.  I was sitting on the aisle of a three seat row.  When she arrived for her middle seat, she immediately introduced herself with confidence and charm.  Then she said, "My daddy wants me to show you where my epi-pen is."  I asked her what she was allergic to and she explained that she was allergic to peanuts and that was when I found out that the nice lady to her right, by the window, was an EMT.  She was going to be in good hands sitting between a mom and an EMT.

She called her dad just before take-off to report that she was on board and between two nice ladies and that we had been informed of where her epi-pen was.  Then she dutifully turned her cell phone to airplane mode.  Some time after take off she decided to work on her homework.  When she pulled out her math homework, I did a double take.

Please notice the second word problem.

I had a small internal freak out moment when I saw that on my flight home, palindromes were making an appearance again.  Then Tabitha asked me to explain it to her.  So I started in the simplest of terms...Bob, Anna, Racecar...

That is when the woman on the other side of her who is the EMT leaned forward and said,

"A man, a plan, a canal, Panama."

My mouth dropped open, I stared at her in disbelief.  I stammered for a few seconds and she thought that I didn't understand, so she said it again and started to explain that it was a palindrome. 

When I recovered the gift of speech, I tried to tell her that the exact same palindrome had been uttered by me on Monday on an American Airlines flight and that I was feeling like I was being punked.  Poor Tabitha.  The gibberish that ensued.  The palindromic nonsense!

I did finally resume helping Tabitha with her homework.  I also found out that the woman's name was Heidi and she was from Indianapolis.  She is visiting her best friend who is trying to get into the medical school where I work.  She knows all about simulations and has participated in quite a lot herself.  I can't remember how the conversation turned to polyunsaturated fats, but I quickly realized that she knew a lot about Chemistry and that brought us to her recommending that I buy a coffee mug with a caffeine molecule on it.  I explained that I already had one.  But she knew about the website thinkgeek.com.  She knew about the website thinkgeek.com!  I told her that I had purchased my BeEr glasses from there.  Heidi and I could definitely have been good friends.

When the plane landed, Tabitha and I had successfully finished her math homework, connected on Pinterest, avoided peanut products, and had orange juice together.  Heidi and I had exchanged palindromic nonsense sentences, geeked out over caffeine molecules and gross wounds for medical simulations.  I bid them both farewell and hugged my family after a long five days away.

When I told them about the palindromes on the way home on the flight Emma said, "Mom, you are living in a palindrome."  How very clever she is.  My trip was the same forwards and backwards.

Chicago to Philly

Today, while on a flight from Chicago to Philadelphia, I was sitting next to a man who accidentally spilled his coffee on me.  When he apologized he introduced himself as Eliot, with one L.  I had already surmised his name was Eliot because his Venti Starbuck's cup said Elliot.  But the order taker, what do they call those guys because they are not the Barista, had spelled it with two L's.  I don't know why he thought it necessary to tell me that his name was challenged in the L department, but such was the beginning of a 1.75 hour conversation.

When he told me his name was Eliot, I immediately said "Put Eliot's toilet up!"  I wrongly assumed I would be met with a confused look of someone who only wanted peace and quiet on an airplane.  Instead, I was answered with "I did, did I?"  He then said, "So you are a palindrome freak like me?"

I explained to him that not four days ago, my daughter and I were talking about the very palindrome involving his name.  She said it to one of her classmates at school in the cafeteria line.  They were a little foggy on the subject.  I also explained that when I was in third grade in Heavener, Oklahoma I was writing my name on my paper and I figured out that my name was very nearly a palindrome.  If my last name had an e on the end, if my name were Emily Lime, it would be palindromic.  He asked if I knew the palindrome "Emily's sassy Lime"?  I said that of course I did. 

I felt pretty badly for the guy sitting in the row with us who I found out too late upon landing was flying out to Philly to take the national board exam for which I prepare medical students.  I really could have been offering him some very good last minute advice on the plane (or just really stressing him out).  Instead I was saying things like "A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!" 

We were seriously geeking out over words.  I have a tendency to get really excited about small, sort of niche markets of subject matter.  The periodic table, sailing, palindromes,  and avogadro's number.  Suddenly I started to see myself from the luggage compartment looking down.  I was this girl traveling alone getting way too excited about words.  And then he said it.  "Lager, sir is regal."  We should go out for drinks while you are in Philly.  Nope.  No way.  Even though that was a nice touch with the palindrome and all... "No, it is opposition!"  "No  Sir!  Away! A papaya war is on!"

I have a habit of getting into these conversations with people who have these niche interests.  You can read about Avogadro's number guy here.  I just have a way of sucking people in and I don't realize that I am doing this connecting thing and then I realize too late that I have maybe over shared or been over friendly.  In words, alas drown I.  Perhaps, I would be better served by this one.  I'm a fool; aloof am I.

So, we exited the plane and I said good luck to the medical student and I said goodbye to Eliot with one L.  He did not follow me to baggage claim.  He did not follow me to rental car pick up. 

I was thinking as I drove to my hotel that I must try not to be so friendly.  Ah, but that leads me to a story that happened last week.  A not so friendly story from last week...

For another time...