Red Riding Hood Reporting

This is Red Riding Hood reporting in and so far no signs of Big Bad Wolf. Perhaps because I didn’t go through the woods? I got to my grandmother’s house on Friday, being welcomed by sunny warm weather.(and relatives)

On the first leg of my flight, I had a lovely empty seat next to me and it was as good as first class. I popped the tray down in front of the empty seat next to me and put my glass of icy orange juice down as I relaxed in comfort, flipping through a magazine. I want the alarm clock that wakes you up with a butlers voice.

Well, after being so spoiled, I was really hoping for another empty seat.
It didn’t happen.

I sat next to a young man on his way to a wrestling match.

I was fairly sure I wasn’t to get my empty seat wish when it seemed every other seat was filled behind me and making their way down the aisle were two men, one older, one younger.

As they paused a few aisle in front of me, the father said to his teenage son, “you want to sit here, or next to the girl?”

Ya, snicker, snicker.

Poor young man, I’m sure if he’d known I’d overheard he would have been mortified.

Guess what Papa, I think you’re son is nine or ten younger than me. At least.

Now who’s snickering? Me. Inside, as I keep a placid face and process what happens around me.

I didn’t sit next to everyone on the plane so I couldn’t say for sure, but it turns out, if I could have chosen who sat next to me, that young man might just have been the one. He was just a nice, normal, all American boy. Traveling to a wrestling match, he was excited, but nervous. We chatted about his world travels (his mom is a travel agent), his great-aunt, my grandmother, and that we both loved Delta’s crisp spice cookies. Yep.

And he may just have realized I wasn’t exactly a teenager.

On the shuttle from the airport, I chatted with the only other passenger, a young college girl. It was a very interesting conversation. Mostly men, marriage, and dating. I can only imagine what the driver thought. Anyway, something tells me it must have been on her mind for a reason.

To wrap things up, on St. Paddy’s day my grandmother took my aunt and me out for not corn beef and cabbage, but another good Irish meal, fish and chips. Remember this is on St. Patrick’s day. A young man came to our table and asked what we would like to drink. Being as this was one of those restaurants with a pub, the humor of my impending request tickled me, I looked up at him over my shoulder with a small smile, eyes twinkling, I said drily, “water.”

(Can you say “water” drily?)

“Boring,” he said.

“Yes,” I agreed cheerfully.

My grandmother ordered a Guinness - and didn’t she have the nightmares.

Top of the morning to you,

T.W.