Chatty Cathy

Tyler Durden's alter ego coined the term 'single serving friend' to describe the temporary relationships we build with strangers.

My single serving friend en route to New York was a sixty year old airline attendant commuting home after working the Beijing-Chicago flight. I nicknamed her Chatty Cathy. 

She had barely sat down before she started pedalling the jewelry that was inside the small plastic bags that she was pulling out of her bra. It was hard to be sympathetic hearing her stories of what a pain it is to go through customs. Apparently, she actually got searched this time; though they were unable to detect the copious amount of jewelry in her undergarments. 

While I was not in the market for tacky jewelry, the pitch was a useful segue into an entertaining story about a manicure/pedicure/massage party during her layover in China the night before that had been mistaken for an orgy. She insisted it was a misunderstanding, but I wasn't so sure after hearing her compliment the male airline attendant on his hair by telling him she wanted to run her fingers through it. Imagine her surprise when the other attendant serving our cabin turned out to be his wife! 

Forty years as an airline attendant - Chatty Cathy had some fantastic stories and a great outlook on life. When one of the younger attendants started complaining to the senior attendant, Chatty Cathy whispered to me 'she just hasn't figured out how to make her day shorter'. Indeed, I just learned how to make my flight shorter.