The Man Who Snowed

About six years ago, I was flying, hm, uh somewhere (can’t remember where), when a very tall (about 6.5 feet tall), older gentleman sat down in front of me. Right after we got our drinks from the flight attendant, the gentleman stretched his arms (as best he could), and then he scratched the back of his head vigorously with both hands. What happened next can only be described as ghastly. As the man scratched his head, an overabundance of dandruff cascaded down onto my tray and intro my drink. I watched as if the world was in slow motion. It looked like snow falling, but without the cold. I only snapped out of my brief hypnotic trance when I saw the dandruff descend into my glass of Sprite. My jaw dropped, and I exhaled, not realizing I had been holding my breath as the dandruff descended.

It was at this point I heard the fellow next to me say “ohhhh”. I looked at him with my mouth open, and he returned the open-mouthed look, and we both knew each other had seen what just happened. The flight attendant walked by, and I asked her if I could get another Sprite. She glanced down at my glass and asked “Why?” since it was obviously still full. I replied “There is something in it” to which the fellow next to me quickly added “Believe you me, there is definitely something in it.” She took the glass, and I blew the dandruff off my tray (yuck!). She soon returned with a fresh drink.

A few minutes later the flight attendant brought out our ‘snack packs’ (little boxes with a sandwich, granola bar, carrots, etc.). I was sitting there enjoying my wonderful grub, when I saw the gentleman reach up to stretch and scratch his head. I quickly grabbed my drink and snack pack to my chest, as did the fellow beside me, to protect our goodies as the dandruff came falling down. And, so commenced the dandruff dance for the reminder of the flight. The gentleman would stretch and scratch, and we would grab, lean back, then blow our trays clean.

When the flight ended, I reached under the seat to get my black computer bag. It was completely covered with dandruff; I just about barfed. I quickly disembarked from the plane, and headed to the first bathroom to thoroughly wash my bag, my hands, and my face. Standing next to me was the fellow from the plane, also scrubbing clean. I still get a little freaked out when I see people scratching their heads with two hands, but therapy is helping me work through it.