I Remember Donald Sutherland
And his long gray knitted coat
As a Software consultant who traveled weekly, I was usually afforded the luxury of being upgraded to First Class as a Platinum, Million Miler on Delta.
There weren’t many of us in First Class that morning. I was in the 2nd row on the right side of the plane. I had gotten settled and as I looked around, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There, on the left side of the plane sitting in the bulkhead row, was Donald Sutherland!
For as long as I live, I’ll never forget his image in my mind.
Had he been a female, he might have qualified as a “bag lady.” He had on a long, loosely knitted gray sweater that looked more like a coat. He actually looked unkempt, and he didn’t give off any friendly vibes.
Even though there were two seats, he was taking up both of them. He sat next to the window, and the empty seat was full of his “stuff.”
When one sits in the bulkhead, nothing can be around one’s feet — unless you’re Donald Sutherland. Apparently, the rules didn’t apply to him. It seemed that everything he’d brought with him was piled around his feet.
I couldn’t help but wonder if the flight attendant was leery of asking him to stow his belongings where the rest of us would have been asked to put them away.
