So where did I leave off? Oh, yes. The older lady choking and we decided to go for a walk.
We went into this little restaurant around the corner from where we were waiting. It was a little restaurant that was one part Dunkin Donuts, one part Pizza Hut and a small Quiznos area. My sister orders a biscuit from Dunkin Donuts (I'm still perplexed at being able to order a biscuit from a donut shop) and I get a bag of chips and a drink thinking the saltiness of the chips will help settle my queasy stomach. I eat my chips and it helps tremendously so I go and order a biscuit now that I'm feeling better.
A couple of tables over from us there is this young woman, probably mid thirties, and this older gentlement discussing something. Now let me say that our mother did teach us not to eavesdrop, but it was impossible not to hear them due to the volume with which the young woman was speaking. I wasn't really paying attention to them at first. I was concentrating on fighting off the motion sickness, but then I started feeling better.
It seemed like this young woman was making a presentation to this gentleman. Almost like a business presentation, but there were no specifics as to what it was. The conversation was mainly spoken by her, but the times the man did talk I thought he had a nice, raspy almost jazz bar sounding voice.
As I'm eating my sister says to me, "if she says that word one more time I think I might scream." I really wasn't paying much attention and so I ask what the word was. "Decentralize" my sister tells me. Of course this piques my curiosity and I start paying attention. She used that word probably 10 times in 10 minutes. She and the gentleman are having quite a discussion about their subject, she trying to make him understand her point. My sister says "I don't know which would be worse. Being on the plane with the old lady coughing or her."
So we finish up our food and head back to the gate area. We only have a few more minutes to wait and then we board the plane. As fate would have it we were two rows behind the older lady who had the coughing attack and in the row directly in front of the younger woman and older gentleman.
Again, we weren't trying to eavesdrop, but it was impossible not to hear her. They continued talking about whatever it was they had been talking about. But this time we hear him more than we did. From what I gathered they were discussing a political/social type of organization or program.
Then my sister hears the flight attendant address the older gentleman by his name and we both hear them talking to her saying they had been together for 8 years or something like that.
Finally we land in New York. We were on a small Comair commuter plane so we have to disembark onto the tarmac, but there is a shuttle waiting to take us to the entrance to the airport. After we sit down on the shuttle I really see the older gentleman for the first time.
In my head I'm thinking "that's Harry Belafonte", but of course I can't say anything because they are sitting right in front of us. Once we get into the airport and away from them I tell my sister who I think he is to which she replies "Who?" (At this point one must remember that she's younger than I am and has never been into music that much.)
My sister then tells me that she does remember the stewardness saying his name and it starting with a B, but she can't remember the entire name. I won't say what my sister said about the young woman's part in the 2+ hour discussion we overheard, because I do want this to be a family friendly blog, but let's just say that my sis thought the young woman was ummm…"shoveling it".
So off to the world wide web I go and search until I find a more recent photo of him and a more recent interview so we could hear him. We've both decided that we are 99% sure it was him. And it would make sense considering how active politically with social movements he has always been.
So there is my Celebrity sighting for this little trip to New York. And just to give you some entertainment how about some Muppet interaction with Harry Belafonte himself. I do like this song and of course you can't beat the muppets. I'll be without internet service until tomorrow evening, but I plan on being back very soon. I'm keeping a little notebook and documenting all we are doing so I don't forget a thing. I have so much to blog about soon.