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Galley Gossip: Love on the Plane - plus enter to win More Than This by Margo Candela
Love on an airplane. It happens. I don't know why it doesn't happen more often.
I mean where else but on an airplane (or at an airport) do you get such an interesting mix of people from all walks of life? Not to mention, you can tell a lot about a person by how they travel, particularly when it comes to how they treat the flight attendant. Don't believe me? Next time you find yourself cramped in a middle seat, just watch the people around you.
I noticed my husband right away. What I liked about him was he didn't flirt, but he was nice and very polite. Always he said please and thank you, and he looked me in the eye whenever he addressed me, which rarely seems to happen these days. The thing that stood out the most about the passenger who would soon become my husband, was a very tasty looking sandwich he had brought on-board from a deli in Manhattan. That said it all. It said he liked good food. It said he was a man with a plan. It said he knew how to take care of himself. When he noticed me drooling over his seat, he offered me a bite. I didn't take the bite, but I knew right then and there he was the guy for me. Eight months later we were engaged. Six years later we have a two year-old son.
Love on the airplane. It happens. Has it happened to you?
Chances are, if you've ever been in a situation like the one mentioned above, you're going to love More Than This by Margo Candela. I know I did. Oh sure Margo is a friend, and one of the writers in my writing group, but this girl can write! Trust me. In fact, movie deals for this book should be rolling in any day now. I've already offered (okay fine, I demanded!) to play the role of the flight attendant when the movie comes out.
- To enter, simply leave a comment below telling us all about your experience finding love on an airplane.
- The comment must be left before Friday, August 8, 2008 at 5pm Eastern time
- You may enter only once.
- One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
- One Grand Prize Winner will receive a free, autographed copy of More Than This, by Margo Candela.
- Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
- Book is valued at $14.
- Click here for complete Official Rules.
Filed under: Stories, Airlines, Books, Galley Gossip
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 3)
randi Aug 8th 2008 9:51AM
I've never found love on an airplane, but I have found a love I'd like to throw from an airplane! The book sounds good. Thanks!
Lily Kwan Aug 8th 2008 10:09AM
I've haven't found love on a plane, but I can dream, right? ;0p
cindy A Aug 8th 2008 10:16AM
The love I found was in the airport...the most adorable, well trained German Shepherd dog being lead through the airport by a young handsome soldier, they melted my heart with pride and love.
tim brown Aug 8th 2008 10:26AM
THANK YOU GOD BLESS
beth shepherd Aug 8th 2008 10:41AM
Thank you for having this. I have not found love on an airplane but I do love to fly with the love of my life, my husband.
kathleen yohanna Aug 8th 2008 1:14PM
I was on a plane when it malfunctioned on takeoff. My husband and two children were with me and I realized how much I loved them. My concern was for them above myself.
kathy pease Aug 8th 2008 1:47PM
i have never flown im too chicken :(
Ed Sep 26th 2008 4:03AM
Oh, I'm so glad I stumbled onto the site today! I usually enjoy reading the cockpit gossip, but this contest...How delightful! So, here's my own story of love on a plane...
Many years ago, when I was young and foolish enough to think that if I could make it in New York, I thought I could make it anywhere. I found out along the way that New York is a creampuff compared to a few other places in the world, but anyway...I had taken an office job in NYC the previous fall, and I was making my first visit home to Tennessee for Christmas. It was a miserable evening flight on Piedmont Airlines (yeah, I'm old enough to remember Piedmont, may they rest in peace). The plane was a small turbo-prop, it was rainy and stormy, and we'd bounced over the mountains trying not to use the convenient little bags. Somewhere south of Charleston, West Virginia, a lovely, unhappy-looking young woman came running past me in the aisle, making a desperate but ladylike dash to the bathroom before losing her sandwich and salad. Yes, children, once upon a time they served real food on airplanes, but I digress...
She arrived at the door of the restroom to discover that someone else's meal had beaten her to the punch. In a loud voice, dripping with the sugar-voweled tones only a true Southern Bell can mouth without sounding foolish, she wailed, "Oh, sheeeit!" and let fly across the cabin. Fortunately, the flight was lightly occupied, and the seat she bathed was empty. Hearing a fellow Southerner in distress, what could I do but rush to her side offering her whatever aid possible, in her moment of need? Actually, she was grateful for my proffered handkerchief, and mopped her face and the front of her dress with as much dignity as she was able to muster, under the circumstances, until the green-gilled occupant of the restroom vacated, and she was able to go in and perform the repairs properly.
I returned to my seat, resignedly contenting myself that I had been suitably chivalrous, and never expected to see her again. A few moments later, I was watching solid clouds out the window, when I felt someone lightly settle into the seat beside me. I turned to find my young female southern woman, looking (and smelling) much better. She smiled and offered me her hand. She was small and thin, but with pleasing gentle curves in all the right places, with dark-honey colored hair falling to her shoulders, and a freckle-face alight with a warm smile that you just had to smile right back at.
"Andrea...Andrea Miller...but my friends call me Andy. I guess we're sure enough friends now!" And she laughed, waving toward the rear of the plane and the scene of the crime. She was from Atlanta, also trying to storm New York, also on her way home for Christmas, and confessed that she'd noticed me, even in the midst of her mad dash rearward. I allowed that I couldn't have helped but notice her, either, and we shared another laugh. We talked for the rest of the flight.
When the flight finally arrived at the Johnson City/Kingsport airport, my destination, the flight stopped for an hour, before continuing on to Atlanta. Andy got off the plane with me, and we had a cup of coffee together while we waited for her boarding call. She mentioned that it was a bit lonely and so different from all she was used to in New York, and I said that I would be honored to call on her when I returned to the city, just before New Year's Eve. "Oh," she gushed, "I've always wanted to be in Times Square on New Year's Eve. You wanna go together?" It was a date...the first of many...
Andy and I spent most of the winter and spring exploring and savoring New York together, whenever we had free time...trying tiny little 4-table Mom-and-Pop restaurants in Little Italy, strolling down Mott Street window shopping and buying egg rolls from street vendors in China Town...trying to figure out the subway system...even wandering around at the Fulton Fish Market. I shook a baby octopus in her face, and got fishy-smelling ice down my back for my trouble!
We went to museums, concerts, shopping...all the while maintaining a strictly platonic friendship. I always saw Andy to her apartment door at the end of whatever adventure we'd shared that day, and she would always give me a friendly peck on the cheek goodnight, but we both pointedly refrained from anything more. Neither of us quite wanted to become physical and possibly ruin a developing warm friendship. We were 'old school' Southern kids, remember?
Then one warm, enchanting spring evening, as we were walking through Greenwich Village after a movie, I felt her warm, soft little hand slip into mine. Somehow, we walked right past the subway line to her place, and without even discussing it, we ended up standing in front of my apartment. When we got to the door, Andy shyly asked, "Now, y'all ain't be silly about this and offer to sleep on the couch or nothin' foolish like that, are ya? I mean...uh...cause I don't want ya to think I--"
I stopped her from talking anymore the best way I knew how. I kissed her! It seemed to be the right thing to do, at that moment...oh yes, turned out it was exactly the right thing! Us Southern Boys may talk a little slow, but we're NOT stupid!
It was nice...it was tender and sweet, and if you think I'm about to divulge any salacious details about that night or any other night with my dear Andy, you're reading the wrong story! Old School Southern Boys do NOT Kiss and Tell!
We remained good friends for a couple of years, eventually choosing to go our separate ways as amicably and warmly as we'd spent all that time together. We called and talked a lot, sometimes meeting for lunch, or a show, but it had changed, and we both knew it. Eventually, I moved to another city. We exchanged occasional letters and cards, and finally one day I received a wedding invitation. There is no doubt in my mind that he was a very lucky man.
I will always remember my sweet friend Andrea fondly, as one of the most wonderful things that ever could have happened to a lonely young man, one night on a plane...
Erica G Aug 8th 2008 3:04PM
I have never found love on an airplane.
theyyyguy Aug 8th 2008 6:13PM
I love the compartmentalized food that is served.
Donna Kozar Aug 8th 2008 7:10PM
I have never found love on a plane, but I would like to.
Bryce siddons Aug 8th 2008 8:25PM
ive never found love on an airplane before. i have flown with someone who i have loved before. i have also met people at airports and ended up partying with them on vacation. thats the closest i can get
teechbiz Aug 8th 2008 9:27PM
i met a man I dated for four month at an airport in DC. I was waiting for a plane to take me to visit someone in NY. The person in NY and I had been together for a few month but frankly the relationship was all over except the crying. Habit and fear of loss had kept me in the relationship.
Adam wound up sitting next to me in the crowded airport awaiting the plane. He had just come out of a relatioship and like me he was trying to get back on his feet. it happened in a moment. He sneezed and I said bless you. we looked at eachother and began speaking. we didn't stop. when we arried in NY we agreed to see each other again.
Within a week of returning we became very close and even began talking marriage. Other things happened and the story is long. I still look back at this time in my life with happiness and joy