Who needs in-flight entertainment when...

As I boarded a plane from Ft. Lauderdale to Boston yesterday, an older guy in front of me was getting strangely chatty with the JetBlue staff. “Oh, and what’s your name?” the man said to a random staffer, who was doing nothing more than standing next to the person taking boarding passes. The random staffer identified himself, and the two shook hands.

When I sat down, the guy hadn’t even come close to his seat. Instead, he was busy talking with the flight attendants and poking around in the cockpit. I began to make fun of him with the dude sitting next to me -- and then the man turned around and I got my first good look at him, and by golly, it was former Florida senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bob Graham! Flying on my plane! And, as I’d later see, sitting in the middle seat in the middle of the plane a few rows behind me! Bob Graham!

One of the guys who sat in my row was talking to Bob before boarding, and we conspired to meet him after the flight and ask for photos. When we did get off the plane, his wife trailed behind us -- but Bob being Bob, he spent a few extra minutes on the plane saying goodbye to everyone. We asked his wife if he’d mind taking a picture with each of us, and she said it would make his day. Then she opened her purse and gave each of us -- I kid you not -- a postcard featuring a picture of them and their 10 grandchildren. Truth be told, they were leftovers from his 2004 presidential run, but she just described them as "pictures with the grandkids."

I always thought Bob Graham seemed very avuncular, and now I know: It’s no act. When he came out, he was more than happy to pose for pictures, and even suggested we stand in front of the check-in counter to memorialize that we were on the same flight. We then talked for a minute about nothing in particular, and at one point he even took out one of his famed notebooks and put it in a different pocket. I wonder if I became a notation.

Eventually we thanked him for his time and left, and some woman simultaneously walked up behind us and said, “Excuse me, Mr. Senator?” Of course, he was more than happy to talk with her as well. It must take him hours to get through a place as crowded as an airport. But I was most impressed with his wife -- standing there next to their carry-on items, smiling an oh-that-Bob smile, knowing she'll be there for a while and displaying a patience I can't begin to imagine.

Posted by Jason Feifer at November 29, 2005 09:59 PM