I have met many a strange person on airplanes. I also have met many a normal person. Today's experience left me wondering how to label this encounter.
I was finally ready, ready to dive into
The Book Thief, a book I had been neglecting, when it happened. Keith, a British fellow, sat next to me and proceeded to ignore me. I thought to myself, "sweet! I can keep reading without feeling rude!" But then, I thought that I should talk to him anyways in case it wasn't coincidence that we sat near each other, but I didn't do anything. My air wasn't working however, and thus began the conversation of the day.
Turns out that Keith has lived in East Tennessee for 7 1/2 years. He first lived in Kingsport, which was almost the death of this big city lover missing London, but then moved to Knoxville, where he enjoys it "alright," so long as he can frequent New York and Miami.
Keith's view on life seemed a bit jaded. He told me that he normally doesn't engage in conversation with whoever he sits by because usually he gets stuck next to some American Suit who cannot carry on a stimulating conversation. (It appears that most American suits or American country boys can't see beyond sports, which is unappealing to this self-proclaimed snob. He said it--not me. Both things.) I was glad to hear that I passed the boring test. I think it's because I was reading. It piqued his interest.
The Menu of Conversation:
- Relationships
- Marriage
- How horrible he would be as a teacher
- The poor quality of American food
- The temptations of today's world as compared to 50 years ago
* I did a lot of listening. Then responding.
Here's what I gathered:
- According to Keith, all relationships are doomed. They are like an hour glass, with the sand waiting to run out. His former wife and two children are back in London, and he feels like when people get married at a young age, they don't know who they are, what their weaknesses are, or who they will become. At 50, he now knew his weaknesses, (and "the list isn't that bad"), but he still doesn't believe that relationships will work because there are too many cruddy things in the world today tempting people to discard the current product. The whole discourse began when he asked if I would marry young. I asked him if 25 was young; he nodded yes with a smile. Apparently, he used to believe in soul mates and had it literally tattooed on his arm in Chinese, but no more. He wished me luck, when I told him I believed relationships could work out. He asked why I thought that, and I realized as I explained that I had seen some success stories. (Nice to hear that from myself.) He said men were too far gone, and I thought to myself that I at least knew some who have a solid foundation.
- Which brings us to marriage, where I expressed that marriage, when found upon solid principles and nurtured could make it, in spite of imperfections of both spouses. I really believe that. I'm not sure he believed me, but he listened politely.
- Apparently, Keith would be the worst teacher ever. He cannot stand the lack of respect shown by today's youth. He asked me if I killed them. I told him rarely, which he thought was wise. Disrespect. No fear of authority. However, his son, at fifteen left a party where he was invited to smoke, and he was impressed by that. As was I. Apparently, he called his mum, and she retrieved him. That's when I explained to him that in every class, there are a handful who have the courage to demonstrate they have their heads on straight. (His tact ran out for a moment, when he told me he sent his son to England to get a quality education. Did he forget I teach in America? Maybe... Benefit of the doubt...)
- American food is just awful too. At least in Tennessee. He described the freshness of pasta and Italian cuisines and Thai dishes in more sophisticated areas, but here they have pickled jalapenos! Heaven forbid! As he explained that on his last trip to Miami, he ate like a king in the finer dining found there, I thought, but we have barbecue and steak! Unfortunately, the American southern traditions don't count as fine dining.
- And! 50 years ago, people could stay married for years (yes, the conversation looped back) because back then people weren't as tempted. There wasn't the mentality of consumerism as prominent as it is now. That was the difference. I told him that people hadn't changed in 50 years. Maybe things are more public and available now, but people could have split 50 years ago too; it's just that now it's more accepted. He mentioned the media (I didn't have to), which he faulted for the problems. I told him that media and consumerism and worldly things would continue to worsen, and unfortunately people use them as their measuring stick. So long as they are above the worldly line, they're good, but they forget that if they parallel the sinking line, they are also sinking. Thus, we need to measure ourselves by what doesn't change: God's line. He used to belong to The Church of England, but now he's just working on cleaning up his resume so that when he gets to the golden gates, he'll be good enough to get in.
He and I both enjoyed our encounter. I learned that I really do believe in happy endings, even with messy middles. I gave him my email address, promising him a tour of Salt Lake, whenever Salt Lake moved up on his list of business trips. Hopefully, he'll check out
mormon.org because I "coincidentally" wrote my email on a card with the I Am a Mormon campaign on it. I told him he should check it out since he's such a people person, even though he supposedly is a "quiet" fellow.
I really do enjoy meeting people, and this case was superbly unique. It was fun watching teenagers nearby eavesdropping as he berated their generation. Plus, this was much better than sitting next to a young guy hitting on you when you have clearly indicated you're not interested. I much prefer talkative, opinionated folks. So once again--thank you Delta. Great seat assignment!
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