October 7, 2018. St.Paul, Minnesota, Air Travel.

We did it. And we are all in one piece. Gill just flew home from New York. She commented to me that traveling by air is no longer fun. I agreed with her but today during our flights, I tried to find something to make the event pleasant and not just a hassle. So this is what I found: People were kind and helpful to us, especially to Ken. A gentleman helped Ken get to the bathroom on the first plane and a lady got up to give me a chair so I could sit next to Ken who was in a wheel chair. The staff was unfailingly pleasant and encouraging. While we were waiting at the gate to board the plane to St.Paul, I chatted with a young man who was returning to The University of North Dakota. He was sitting beside me so I could not see him with my lack of peripheral vision but even though I could not see his face, he and I had a great rapport. He is a math major, in his fourth year, probably heading for graduate school. I asked him what he wanted to do with his mathematics degrees. Much to my great surprise he said that his dream was to work in the insurance business as an actuary. I was so surprised. No young person has ev er told me they wanted to be an actuary ...until now. Talking to him was worth a plane ride. Another young lady I sat beside waiting for the plane attends Bolling Green University. She is studying geology and she is a sophomore. She came to Boston with several other students who were working with high school students during mock mediation sessions. The class she is taking is Mediation for solving Disputes, so this visit was part of the course. Interesting. And all day I evaluated the clothing of the travelers. Only one man wore a suit and tie. Every one else was casual, some looking better than others. So I had a happy day. But we are weary. At the end of the day, I have decided that in order to have a pleasant day, you must work at hot.