My Friend Ninja

Since I can recall, my son's gamer tag has been "YourFriendNinja." He chose it when he was in 4th grade. I believe he wanted something that was simultaneously intimidating and not intimidating. A ninja is no joke, but when it's a friendly ninja...well...then...that's not so scary.

As I was on one of my bi-weekly flights between MSP and ATL this past week, I spied something near my feet that initially resembled a popcorn kernel. Accordingly, I ignored it. Spirit Airlines is not know for their extreme tidiness.

But the more I just sat in my empty-besides-me row and listened to my audio book, the more I stared at the would be kernel. It was interesting. It had a bit of a sheen that I'd never seen in popcorn. Also, it had an interesting appendage. Sure, popped popcorn can result in all manner of unpredictable shapes, but this one was particularly unpredictable.

Eventually, I reached for it. I was both shocked and delighted to find it was not popcorn, but a tiny ninja figure. Immediately, I decided his name would be "MyFriendNinja" and I would take a number of action shots featuring my new friend.

The subsequent 30 minutes of my flight flew by. He will live in my backpack forever. We will go on many exciting adventures together...

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© 2023 – ∞ B. Charles Donley