Chin-Wagging in Mid-Air
The original question with slight modifications was: Have you ever had an intense conversation on a plane with a stranger you never saw again? It was posted by one of the hubbers.
The immediate answer is yes, but invariably many people have such conversations as well because of the setting and the ambiance, ie, sitting next to someone in cramped seats with nothing to do but strike up a conversation that is so deep it becomes engaging.
But this doesn't happen all the time. The reserve aspects of talking to strangers may well continue to take hold. However, its different with different people, and the issue has to be looked at on a one-to-one basis.
If the one you are sitting to is naturally gregarious then obviously it becomes much easier to break the ice, so to speak, if he or she isn't, then it becomes much more difficult to start a conversation, let alone establish some kind of rapport on a plane thousands of feet above ground.
And this is despite the fact that a flight journey could take anything up to 10 hours. But it can happen. The ice naturally breaks, and the conversation takes off into different directions that could include different topics meandering between one subject to the next. Politics, culture, books, it becomes a free-for-all as the engine drums up and frequent air pressure outside rattles the plane,
Over the years I have traveled a lot and for long distance, up to eight hours cramped in the plane, with legs aching, feet getting sore, and blocked up ears. I am not a naturally gregarious person, but at times I would find myself setting next to one who would strike up a conversation that would be intermittent at first but then heats up into something not only enjoyable but drives the time forward.
It would actually be a Godsend, times passing through the frequent meals and coffee and/or tea, through tossing and turning and even while watching an in-flight movie, putting in the odd comment here and there.
Most of the time, its a one off conversation, or a meeting. Once the plane touches down, its goodbyes as if its a relationship within the fuselage, cabin and the compartment, but well worthwhile.
