Agreed wholeheartedly, and loved this piece! I’ve had many an airplane chat, and think about my favorites often. Even if the connection is not “Shakespearean”, as you say, it’s equally valuable to share space and stories with someone, even briefly. Though their larger impact on our day-to-day is mild, they still remind us there are so many people in this world on completely different paths and journeys to ourselves. And we wish them well.

Thanks so much for this great response. Hope to see you in the next prompt!

• H