As I was sitting in a plane Friday prior to takeoff, a man in a suit walked onboard and sat down in the seat next to me.  The guy looked really familiar yet I couldn’t think of his name at all.  Soon, though, he dialed a number on his Blackberry and said, “Hey, Jim, this is Sam Brownback calling you back.”  Of course it was him.  I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner.  This was going to be one interesting plane ride sitting next to a state senator and ‘08 presidential hopeful.

I don’t know a whole lot about Mr. Brownback to be honest.  I know he’s a pretty right-wing conservative, and an article I read recently in Rolling Stone made him out to seem a tad extreme when it came to his religious ideals.  I wasn’t going to outright tell him that I knew who he was right after sitting down, though.  Instead, I figured I’d just try to chat with him a little once we’d been flying for a while.  I wouldn’t argue or debate with the guy, but I really thought it would be interesting to pick his brain a little. 

Unfortunately, no such moments ended up happening because a couple seats two rows ahead of us were empty so he decided to move up to give us both room.  I think it’s safe to say that he likely immediately regretted his decision, though.  As soon as he sat down, a heavy middle-aged woman from across the aisle said, “Excuse me, I’m a huge fan of yours.”  She then proceeded to talk his ear off as he was trying to read the newspaper.  She was absolutely beaming and couldn’t stop flapping her gums.  I felt kind of bad for ol’ Sam because it looked like the scene in Airplane where the main character keeps talking to the old lady and she’s completely uninterested.  Then, a stewardess recognized him, noticed that he had a banana that he was planning to eat with his sandwich, and proceeded to talk nonstop for TEN MINUTES about bananas to him.  It was painful to watch, and I was getting a little irritated just watching these two buffoons try to strike a conversation with a guy that just wanted to relax a little.  I realize that he’s a politician and it comes with the territory but it was still ridiculous.  Brownback ended up cutting his banana in half and giving it to the the flight attendant which I thought was amusing. 

Before my flight took off, I texted a handful of friends to let them know I was next to Sam Brownback.  Even my staunch Republican friends ended up texting me back telling me that I needed to convince him not to run for president.  He may not be the best politician, but at least he’s doing his part to make sure others are getting their daily fruit intake.