When you experience life, you remember.

There usually isn’t much chatter on an airplane. People stay engrossed in a book, movie, music, or just their own thoughts.

On a rare occasion, however, conversation ensues.

I find it fascinating to hear what people talk about for a few hours as the plane seems to slowly crawl across the sky.

Let’s clear up one misconception: I am not an eavesdropper. It’s simply easy to overhear when chatter is merely feet away.

Recently, serendipity placed me next to two teenagers swapping stories about their recent trips to Las Vegas.

The tales of parties, troublemaking, sleeplessness, craziness seemed to be a series of ‘I can top this!’ Oh yeah, “I stayed up until 4am, and I wasn’t even drinking!”

The conversation weaved, stopped, started and then got personal.

“How do you get along with your parents?” the angry girl asked the ‘too cool for school’ young boy.

“They are alright,” the boy responded, reluctant to share any vulnerability.

The boy said his parents restricted his freedoms, became unreasonably involved in his life, and didn’t really know him.

Beneath the rough, guarded exterior, however, was a treasure of memories between father and son.

The boy then opened up and shared a tale of diving for fish with his dad. He counted the days until he could dive again this summer with his dad. The fish were bountiful, colorful, friendly, and his Dad told him so many wonderful things about fish and the ocean over the years.

Hate and disrespect were replaced with love. I hope this boy is able to find many more opportunities to bond with this father.

If you are a parent, create memories of a lifetime now.

If you aren’t a parent, think back to a great memory that your parents gave you, and tell them thank you.

Until next time,

Dan Naden