On September 9, on a flight from Seattle to Pittsburgh, I sat next to an amazing young man named Jacob Boring. We talked for a good part of the flight – talked about travels and adventures, hopes and dreams, and Jacob became my friend. I just learned that Jacob died yesterday. I don’t know the circumstances. I’m in shock. But I feel the need to post the post I posted on my Facebook wall on the day I met Jacob.

September 9:
Our plane was delayed an hour and a half, and so we had extra time to get to know our fellow passengers before we boarded.

There was a man named Robert, sitting in the row of seats across from us, who gave me hope for our world. He was quick to give a friendly smile, quick to move his belongings out of the way for someone with a walker, ready to help and show kindness to whoever entered his space. I told Robert he was one of the good people in the world, and he smiled his kind smile and thanked me.

I always get the best seatmates when I fly. This time I had the good fortune to sit next to Jacob and, sitting across the aisle, his girlfriend, Liberty. Jacob and Liberty had come out from Pennsylvania to spend time in the big mountains of the Pacific Northwest.

Jacob told me they’d hiked the Skyline trail on Mount Rainier. Coincidentally, years ago I’d worked in Paradise on Mount Rainier, and the Skyline trail had been one of my regular hikes. Also coincidentally, my dad had written a book that chronicled the climbing history of Mount Rainier. Further coincidentally, Dad had climbed the mountain 50 times – and had led me to the summit one of those times.

And then (ahem) I might have said, “Before I put my cellphone in airplane mode, let me show you Dad’s Wikipedia page.”

Jacob and Liberty were so fun. I think Jacob and I and Scott chatted nonstop for a good two hours of the flight – we talked about mountains and hiking and traveling; the sports we played in school; Gettysburgh and the ghosts that appear there; and Jacob’s job as an electrician, Scott’s job as a photojournalism professor, and my job as a teacher. Jacob brought out his phone and showed us a video of a bear that had found a camera he’d attached to a tree – the bear had sniffed and pawed at it, and twisted it around. You can see the bear’s big black snout as he zooms in on the camera. Whoah.

When I introduced myself, I said, “My name is Karen. Everyone needs a Karen, right? And today I will be yours.”

Jacob laughed and said his last name was boring. I waited to hear what his last name was so I could determine for myself if it was boring. He started laughing and said, “No, my last name actually IS Boring.” Ohhhhhhh…. and then I started laughing, too. It sounded like the start to a joke: “Karen and Boring sit next to each other on a plane…”

The flight attendants were awesome! They found out I’d just had a birthday, and gave me a chocolate bar and a birthday card in celebration, then sang a round of happy birthday to me when I went to the back of the plane to use the restroom. As I left the plane, the attendants all sent me off with grins and well wishes.