Macy in flight

Posted on July 11th, 2007 by Heather Dugan

Air travel can have the feel of an odd sort of zoo outing in which you are actually confined with the fascinating creatures. I’ve never been much of a TV watcher, but the following excerpt from my travel journal illustrates that I am not in any way above following the exploits of well-developed characters.

March 2005… “Oh! I almost forgot about Macy and Robert. Oddest couple I’ve seen in… forever! On first glance, I assumed he was taking his mother on vacation. When it became evident that they were husband and wife, I developed a morbid fascination in observing the quirks of their relationship.

She smelled of something alcoholic at ten in the morning and hated flying, not out of fear but more for the tie-down it represented. I sensed a cigarette craving as well. Attractive enough in her red leather jacket and black jeans, but at least twenty years older than Robert and with all the marks of nicotine on her face, she reminded me of a sixty-something Barbie doll after a few decades of wild living in and around the toy box. Macy had wrenching coughing fits during which she would hunch forward before finally leaning wearily into her husband. Halfway through the flight she looked slightly rabid with white foam flecking her lips. I said nothing, edging into my millimeters of ‘personal space’ by the window and fervently hoped Robert would tell her to wipe her mouth or something. Strangely, he never seemed to notice; more impressed, perhaps, with his own cleverness… Their banter was truly unusual, and I actually grew to like them (see what four hours on a plane can do?), in spite of their initial and obvious aloofness toward a single seat mate (that would be me). He really liked the banana bread dessert (again; four hours on a plane…) and asked Macy, repeatedly, for hers. After ten minutes or so, I offered my own untouched package which he declined but then slid onto his lap tray as he handed our refuse to the passing attendant. Robert playfully persisted in snatching at his wife’s last bit of bread which eventually annoyed her. Macy was ’saving’ it but pointedly tossed it into the trash bag later.

Macy had brought a load of catalogues as her reading material. They shopped. He convinced her that a black one-piece bathing suit was sexy because of its side panel green stripes. She tried, ineffectively, to sell him on dress shoes with bows.

Macy and Robert were traveling with another couple to a friend’s time-share while this same friend was in the hospital awaiting surgery for a heart ailment. She stressed the friend’s desire for them to make the trip without him quite a few times (until it sounded better?)… What struck me most was how well Macy and Robert’s relationship worked for them. They were quite affectionate with each other. He was exceedingly attentive to her four hours and twenty minutes of acute discomfort, finally pulling out an unopened bottle of cough medicine. He asked my advice as to the proper dosage and then lovingly proceeded to double dose Macy, whom he’d described as “ninety-eight pounds soaking wet”, on the theory that more would be better. Hmmm… no conclusions; just some interesting watching…”