I’m just going to try to get everybody caught up on what’s been happening in the past few years one post at a time. The time since the last post is only about two weeks, so I’d say I’m doing pretty good.

Anyway, I went on a business trip a few months ago, and one of the things that I love is flying. Not necessarily the way air travel is now, but the whole experience of getting onto an airplane and flying and having that sense of wonder. I’ve had this since I was a kid.

We live in Lancaster, PA, and there’s a small airport here. It’s got commercial service. It’s a single prop plane that used to fly to BWI, but now flies to Dulles, Pittsburgh, and other places. Well, I had to go to Buffalo for work, and I could have driven. Or … I could take the small prop plane down to Dulles and catch a connecting flight up to Buffalo. Since the times worked out and it was less than driving, I took it.

I love these planes. I love being able to see the ground as we fly, and what the pilots are up to. I love being able to smell the jet fuel as I walk on the tarmac. It’s just perfect.

So while going through security, I noticed that the [one] other person on my flight had the exact same carry-on that I did. A carry-on that I had bought about 15 years ago and had never seen in the wild. I didn’t have it on me, but I made a comment. “Oh, wow, I have that exact same bag.”

We made some small talk about how great the bag is (I’ve carried mine on hundreds of trips and beat it up pretty good on several overseas flights). I then gently transitioned to asking him where he was going – probably not just to DC. He said he was flying out west and going to a conference.

When we got on the plane we were able to keep chatting (it was the two of us and the two pilots …) across the small aisle. I learned that he graduated from the same high school as me and even had several of the same teachers. We had a good laugh about them. I don’t recall introducing myself, nor did I feel the need to. I think for me I’m a naturally curious person, so the questions come up quickly and then based on the answers, I just have more and more. There’s never a shortage.

I’m not sure if people find this annoying. I’m working on making sure I’m reading the room the right way and if they are giving signs that it’s time to shut up and enjoy the flight. I don’t think I stuttered too much when chatting with this guy, but I also didn’t let my stuttering stop me from initiating something in the first place. I’m starting to realize – what’s the worst that could happen? They could just acknowledge me and that’s it. Or we could have a lovely chat, and I could gain more confidence. And I could continue to put my stutter back in its place.