These things always happen to me.
We flew home yesterday on Jet Blue and were in aisle five, so we had to wait till pretty much every else got on. We had the window and the middle seat and of course there was someone sitting in the window seat and a guy on the aisle. I had to get the woman at the window to move because the wife always has the window. I took out all the stuff she needed to fly from our carry on: blankie, headphones, book, glasses, special neck rest pillow. Then I stowed my gear and helped this old lady put her stuff up before I squeezed by the dude in the aisle seat. He was an older very thin wirey guy who really reminded me of my uncle. When I sat down I thanked him for being patient and introduced myself. He said his name was Manny and he was originally from Greenpoint Brooklyn. Then he goes "This is my last flight."
I ask him what he meant. He told me he had pancreatic cancer which has been in remission for about three years and he had been living in Florida. But it was looking bad and he wanted to come home to his family so they didn't have to fuss with the arrangements and sending his body back to Brooklyn. Quite a conversation while the snarky steward guy was giving us our water and cashews and blue potato chips. I told him I was real sorry and that I would remember him in my prayers and would make a special intention to Saint Jude. He thanked me but he had an unbelievable attitude. He had a carry on under his seat that was just full of pills. He took pills about every twenty minutes or so. Sometimes he would tell me what it was. "Check this out...it's medical marijuana...in a pellet form....man I would never have got in such trouble in high school if they had these pellets back then... it's for my appetite man." Here was a guy who was looking at the last mile and he had a smile and a joke and was polite and kind to the people he interacted with. I hope I have the balls to do the same thing when it's my time. It makes you realize that the problems you have are really not that big a deal in the whole scheme of things.
It was some flight.
