“Serving overseas as a small-town boy from America is intense, stressful and humorous! Enjoy a light-hearted story with me from our last 20 years overseas!” – Matt
TRYING NEW FOODS
My world was pretty small growing up in small-town middle America, which was often a good thing! I took my first plane ride when I was 19 years old. Everything was new and exciting on that first plane trip nearly 30 years ago. Since then I have taken hundreds of flights and there is nothing glamourous about it! I would much rather travel by car, train or bus – more wiggle room and friendlier people along the way!
For a while airlines would offer special meals at no extra charge on international flights – Indian, Arabic, Kosher, etc. These meals were prepared much better than the standard meals. I enjoyed making requests for these meals a few weeks beforehand for me or my wife. My wife would get embarrassed on the flights, when I ordered special meals for her, as the stewardess would call out her name, so that had to stop, but not for me! We learned that the stewardesses and other passengers assumed only a person of that background would order that kind of meal. Why would someone not from India order Indian food? … let alone someone from Indiana!
On one transatlantic journey, we had a young son with us and when wiggling into our row on entering the plane, his little foot bumped the seat in front of us. The person in front, a woman from Germany, stood up, glared at us and asked us to not bump her seat again. I apologized and thought, “Wow!, this is going to be a long flight with a toddler sitting behind a person with First Class expectations in Economy Class.”
Well, meal time eventually rolled around and the stewardess walked to our section and asked, “Matt with the kosher dinner!?” The German gal turned around with a face of shock, assuming I was Jewish, and probably feeling collective guilt for the terrible abuses her nation had done to the Jews long ago. From that moment on, the German woman treated me and our son like we were royalty and went out of her way to be friendly and helpful the entire flight. I guess sometimes it can be helpful to be adventuresome and try different foods.
Something similar ever happen to you? Contact me and let me hear your story!
mattsmishaps@gmail.com
Matt’s Mishaps, PO BOX 114, Grabill, IN 46741
