To chat or not to chat?

For a traveler, it's a ubiquitous circumstance. Do you socialize with the new people seated near you, who you'll probably never speak to again? Or are you sick of the meaningless short-lived relationships-- so you pop in your ipod headphones and zone out with head craned in the opposite direction?

In general, I say "hello" when I've found my designated spot on a long distance bus or an airplane, you know, testing the waters. You can certainly find out a thing or two about a new area and plenty of the best recommendations I've received have been via word-of-mouth. It's kind of like looking up ratings on Zagat's or an Internet graffiti wall, except you have to actually attempt to make a connection. Like anyone, however, sometimes I'm just not in the mood.

That's usually about the time when obnoxious person 'A' enters the scene. Maybe it's a chattery girl on holiday who just bought 8 pairs of shoes in Thailand. This time it was a 26-yr old from Boone, NC, who had just spent a week babysitting her niece and nephew in upstate New York. I was fortunate enough to be seated next to this shrill-voiced woman on my plane to Charlotte this past weekend, after spending 45 minutes at our gate trying to tune her out. She's the kind of person who pretends she's talking to you, but actually stares straight ahead, allowing the entire public to enjoy her thoughts. This one went so far as to grab my shoulder a few times when I wasn't paying enough attention to the passages she read allowed from her book. (Yes, I was "reading" too.)

But eventually, what I realized was-- she actually became more bearable as I intentionally entered the conversation. Maybe those other tactics were only to attract my attention-- and once she had it, some entirely intriguing thoughts came out. Her new kick was apparently taking control and responsibility of all parts her own life, both the successes and the failures. Something we all should know, but it never hurts to hear it again.

I ended up actually enjoying myself by the end, and even though I continued to cringe out the window every time she screamed or shouted, at least it made my flight interesting enough for the time to pass a bit quicker.