100,000AAdvantagemiles
foryour thoughts
Emailusat
, and ifyour letter ispublished in
a2016 issue, you’llbeentered intoadrawing towin100,000AAdvantagemiles
HelpingHands
Adam,youhitthenailontheheadwithyour
October“Editor’sNote.”Iamconvincedthat
nothing iswhat it looks likeatfirstglance.
Oursnap judgmentsmayberightonsome
levels,buttheyoftenobscuremore interest-
ingnuancesbecausewesimplyturnaway
andchoosenotto lookbeyond.Ononeflight,
Isatnexttoawomanwhosatquietly,her
handsunderherblanket, facingthewindow.
Whenthebeverageservicewasoffered, she
turnedtowardtheaisleandaskedmeekly
foracola.Asshereachedouttotake it from
theflightattendant, Inoticedthatshehad
stumps insteadoffingers. Iofferedmy
assistance. Ididn’twanttoassumeanything
orbe impolite,butI feltcompelledtoask
heraboutherhands.Whathadhappened?
Shegavemeabigsmileandthankedme
foraskingher.Shethentoldmeastory
aboutahealthyyoungwomanwhogottoxic
shocksyndromeandhow it infectedher
extremities;abouthowthey foughttosave
herhands,buttheyweretoo fargone.For
therestoftheflight,wetalkedaboutthe
uncertaintyof life—and laughedagreatdeal
oversomeoftheordealsshehadhadasshe
adaptedtohernewwayof functioningasa
mom,artistandtraveler. Itwasoneofthe
mostmemorableconversationsIhaveever
had.Nooneandnothing isone-dimensional.
Lookingdeepermakes lifericher.
WendyCobrda
Manlius,NewYork
EditorAdamPitlukResponds:
I just love you,
Wendy. This is such a fantastic story. I sincerelyhope
to sit next to someone like you thenext time I’mflying.
Or better yet, I hope it’s you I’m sittingnext to. Thanks
somuch for sharing this story.Much respect.
AClevelandCompanion
Adam, asanativeClevelanderanddie-hard
Clevelandsports fan, Ialwaysreadyour
“Editor’sNote”withspecial interest.The
Septembercolumndidn’tdisappoint,
although italwayspainsme tocomeacross
OzzieNewsome’sname.ForasmuchasI
lovedhimwhenheplayed for theBrowns, it
killsme thathe’sbeensosuccessfulas the
generalmanagerof theBaltimoreRavens.
Ifonlyheweredoing that inCleveland!As
for thedelicaciesnowavailableatstadiums
throughout thecountry, theonly thing
missing inyourarticlewasareference
to thegreateststadium“delicacy”ever:
StadiumMustard from theoldMunicipal
Stadium inCleveland. I’ve lived inDetroit;
Chicago;LittleRock,Arkansas; and
Raleigh,NorthCarolinaover the last30
yearsandhavealways foundaway tomake
sure there’sabottle in the fridgeandaspare
in thecupboard.Thanks forprovidinga
greatread in theair, and thanks forsharing
yourClevelandpride.
PeterS.Pickus
Apex,NorthCarolina
A.P.Responds:
Exactly, Peter. Take that,Ozzie.
Nothing satisfiesmore than awinover theRavens,
like theone theygot onOct. 11. (Well, awinover
theSteelers is prettydarn close.)This is awesome,
Peter! Thanks somuch for writing in.And awin in
OT… take that,Ozzie!
ReunitedatLast
Ihad towriteandask ifyoureditor,Adam
Pitluk, ismybrother fromanothermother.
I loved theSeptember2015 issue featuring
MarshawnLynchsomuch thatIbrought it
homeandshipped it tomysister inSeattle
forher fancave. I loved the“Editor’sNote”
whereAdam talkedabouthis love for the
SeattleSeahawksdue tohissister’s living
out there. Ihavealsoadopted the teamdue
tomysister’sundyingpassion for the team.
WalterPayton,Sunday footballgameswith
dad…Adam, areyoumy long-lostbrother?
ColleenMadison
LakeForest, Illinois
A.P.Responds:
That’s agoodquestion,Colleen.
It’s almost toouncanny. Perhaps I need toput a call
in tomymother. I was, after all, born inChicago.
StaffScreening
Adam, Iwant topersonally thankyou for
your team’seditorial content. I’mafilm
directorwho travelsoftenonAmerican
Airlines (I love it).Myfilmwork takesme
allover,butbeforeIget tomy laptop to
AIRMAIL
Gotafantasticphotographthroughtheaircraftwindow?
Tweetusnow@AmericanAir#AmericanView
FROM
LEFT
:
Paris toMiami (HemuAggarwal;@hemuaggarwal15)
Chicago (ChadKinney)
AMERICANWAY
DECEMBER2015
15
