On my way back home
I boarded the plane armed with a backpack, a guitar case, and a stuffed bulldog named “Handsome Dan” sporting a shirt that read “Yale Class of 2008” across its little bulldog chest. I grabbed the first aisle seat I could find that seemed suitable: enough storage space above it to fit my guitar (check), plenty of older folks who’ll likely just sleep the whole time including a guy right in front that looked like Santa Claus (check), little or no children around a 4 row radius (close enough). I plopped down and glanced over at my aisle-mate sitting in the window seat – a freckled boy about 10 years old, riding alone, and holding a stuffed Dalmatian puppy dog under his left arm. Was I slightly embarrassed to realize that I was carrying a stuffed animal similar to that of the kid sitting next to me? You bet I was. But it’s not like I was trying to impress anyone. Santa Claus passed out before they pulled out from the gate, freckled kid busted out his laptop to play “Star Wars the Best of PC