Very Important People

an essay by Mike Nagel

Mike Nagel’s new essay brings Little Blanksgiving to a close. Thank you to Blank from Dirt.fyi for co-publishing with us this week.

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collage by Amanda Killian

VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE

by Mike Nagel

Not long ago, I was sitting on the tarmac at Sea-Tac waiting for the plane to take off when a thin, grey smoke started billowing out of the air vents. Later I’d learn that it was harmless condensation, common for planes sitting on hot runways. At the time, though, it seemed like the end.

I looked around the plane to see how my fellow passengers were handling their fates. I’m proud to report that they were handling it well. The nerve of the interstate American traveler remains steadfast. Nobody seemed to mind that our plane was on fire. They were too busy playing on their iPads. iPads have come a really long way in the past few years. I’ve heard you can play Call of Duty on them now.

I was sitting back in economy class with the rest…