The Magician (Or People You Meet Flying) (San Francisco Part 1)

The Brocketts & Litwins

I always meet people when I fly, but I have never meet a magician. I was flying Delta direct to SFO to visit Hannalorre and Nancy for a girls weekend in the City. I was very excited about my trip and all the adventures I would have with my friends.

On the plane, I sat next to a lovely couple, Marion and Lynda Brockett, who were coming from Pilot Point, Texas to San Francisco for their daughter's wedding reception. They told me all about their children. They also described their Texas home and told me it was on a hill. A hill in Texas? Take a look at Stagecoach Drive. They later confessed that it was really just a "bump."

In any event, they spent the majority of the flight telling me about their daughter's new father-in-law Edward Litwin who was an immigration attorney by day, and a magician/comedian by night. They went on-and-on telling me how funny this guy was. A funny attorney?

When the flight ended, we said our goodbyes and I headed to baggage claim. On the way, I saw a well-suited driver holding a sign that said "Brockett." Wow! I told the driver, "I know those people." Just then I turned around to find the Brockett's laughing hysterically, and upon closer inspection, the sign (with eraser marks and crossed-out/misspelled words) instead of looking professional, looked more like a three-year old's art project.

Without missing a beat, Litwin broke into his magic act -- right there on the airport concourse. The Rope trick, the ring trick, with well-executed comedic commentary for each one. The tricks and comedy continued non-stop during our walk to baggage claim. It was at baggage claim that Litwin came up with the idea of crank-calling my husband. In a professional, Ritz-Carlton type voice, Litwin called Shawn to advise him that I had arrived safely in San Francisco, but that he needed authorization for my purchase of a $4500 mink stole. There was a pause, and then without his missing a beat, Shawn said "put it on the Chahine tab." Shawn knows my friend Hannalorre who is a bonafide "shopping professional." The jig was up and he was ready to punt.

We said our goodbyes with a few more laughs -- How lucky I was to meet such nice people AND to receive a free magic show!

On the return flight from SFO to SLC, I sat next to Gilmor Keshet, a senior scientist at the Chaim Sheba Cancer Research Center in Tel Hashmer, Israel, and a Stanford University alumni. Gilmor was on her way to Big Sky, Montana for a stem cell/cancer research conference. She told me all about her life in Israel, her four children, and the continuing middle-east conflict. We both agreed it is hard to work and raise a family. We swapped contact information and I really hope we stay in touch.