The Nice Thing About Strangers
Creative Non-Fiction Short Stories. :) Travel, Oldsters, Love, and Compassion.
Benim Kızım and Other Cures for Airsickness
The general rustling of reading material charges through the airplane. Everyone shifts in their seat, digs through the belongings that should be stowed under the seat. The whole middle section of passengers tries to make noise, if nothing else, to block their own ears from the sounds in aisle 16.
A beautifully made-up woman–pink floral headscarf and narrowly plucked eyebrows–spends the twenty minutes after take-off vomiting. Flight attendants remain in their seats. Her mother is perched beside her. The old woman wraps her skirt over her once-young legs as she tucks those legs under her in the seat. One’s head fills with names of birds they resemble–pheasant, pigeon, egret–something formless, learned back in elementary school. The mother glares around to see if anyone is disturbed by her daughter’s evident distress, then consoles her embarrassed adult daughter by calling her my child, my darling, my little girl.
–Flight to Istanbul…
Mom’s winter orchid–it makes her so happy!
The Nice Thing About Strangers 
Been in that lady’s predicament. Embarrassing on a civilian flight for sure. And that glaring mom makes me wanna just keep my eyes front!!! 😉 The orchids look great.
I’ll pass on the compliment to Mother, thank you!!
Today was such a busy one that I almost didn’t get the blog in! I’d hate to miss my first day just based on traffic and chaos. I’d rather miss because I won the lottery or something. 🙂
here’s hoping you do win the lottery, Paige!! Are you traveling or back home? MLK day so it’s a holiday…have me wondering about traffic and chaos 🙂
I did head home over the weekend, but the return trip wasn’t so bad. I’ve been trying classical music when I am in the deep, dark, rage-inducing part of traffic. (Yes, even I have such a place!)
you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have it 😉 hugs
Even after seeing people in this predicament I still love flying….wish I could do it more often 🙂 I love the flower!!
I can see why that orchid makes your mom happy!
Thank you so much for sharing blog
Thanks for sailing through! 🙂
I know how the mom feels. I would just DARE anyone to say a word that could hurt my darling child while he was sick or in pain. It’s mama bear time!
Big love and respect for the Mama Bears!
Bellissimo il Tuo spazio ricco di immagini e esperienze di vita!!!!
Complimenti !!!! 🙂
Torno presto a visitarti 🙂
Un cordiale saluto
Claudio
Grazie, Claudio!
Piacere di conoscerti!
Lovely writing…Sad to read (as a flight attendant) she never would have been unattended for twenty minutes on my flight!! Sorry you had to endure this… xo
I bet this mother wouldn’t have even let you help out. She was watching us all for any sudden movements. There can only be one mother. 🙂 My mother was a flight attendant in the 60s–back when there were weigh-ins and they couldn’t be married. I love her stories!
Reblogged this on The Nice Thing About Strangers.