Oddest Places-Interesting People

What is it about plane rides that get interesting stories of encountering people? I was reading my friend AJ's blog (Kaleidoscope) where she was talking about a great conversation she had with a man from Jordan and I got to thinking about how many different stories I have heard about people having meaningful conversations on plane rides. Why is that and why is it always plane rides?

I think its because we are forced to interact with these people. There are no other options...you will be sitting uncomfortably close to this same person for the next 3-5 hours and you know you don't have enough battery life left in your iPod to last that long. Its going to happen. You know you are going to get bored enough that you have to stike up a conversation to pass the time. And what do you know...these people actually have an interesting story to tell. I think these interesting people are all around us, everyday. We just choose to pass on by with meaningless conversation or none at all.

And then I started thinking about these people you see everyday, the people you work with. I work with people everyday that I really know nothing about, but I could sit on a plane and learn someones complete life story and never see them again. Does that seem odd to you too? Why is this so? My answer is...usually...it just doesn't come up. (not a good enough excuse)