Non-Alcoholic Passionfruit Sparkler and Tiny, Tiny Tears
I owe an apology to my dear readers. My last post was a wee bit mellow dramatic. I was through ticketing and security in 20 minutes. However I was completely unprepared for 'the Sniffer' — the device before the metal detector that makes sure you are not carrying anthrax on-board — which blasted me in the eyes.

Once on-board I found myself sitting next to a young, very reserved German girl. I got situated and began to read. After a few moments I noticed tears streaming down her cheeks. I asked if she was okay and she, embarrassed, said yes. She would cry for a minute, then get her compact out and immediately fix her face. And again. And again.

Other passengers were themselves getting situated and began look around to see if there were any celebrities or terrorists on-board. What they saw and misinterpreted looked as if it were pulled from a bad episode of Dateline. A sloppy man reading his book disinterested as his young female companion cries after a series of insults. 'What would you do?' such a pogram would pose to the viewer. Mostly when my eyes met those of my fellow passengers I would see in their faces disgust and pity with infrequent rage.

Ironically the inflight entertainment was 'The Breakup' with Vince Vaughan and Jennifer Aniston...