On the Kansas City trip, I guess prior to going we’d been playing a lot of Street Fighter (II? maybe), and so one of the things we’d been doing a lot of was the celebration move of either Zangief or Blanka — I can’t remember which one now. I think it was Blanka, but I did find this when I was searching for video of the celebration moves online (unsuccessfully):

Congratulations, Zangief

In any case, the move in question was one where you make kind of a sharp series of ape-like grunts while pumping a pair of “#1″ signs with your hands in front of your chest. We all (though mostly my pals Rob and Jim) were doing it a lot, and after a great weekend, we were getting on the plane home.

It was here that Jim and Rob made a pact — that they would both do the move in front of the flight attendant as the only thing they’d say when they boarded. It was pretty great. Jim went crazy and the curious disarray was obvious in the attendant’s composure as Rob rolled up next — and totally couldn’t do it. So he sort of half-pumped his number #1s, lowered his head, and very quietly made the requisite noises as he slipped by her. Each end of the confidence spectrum was a delight.

All my friend Brian and I got was a guy that insisted he had the MIDDLE seat between us on the same flight (an impossibility since we booked through Rob’s resources all together, I believe), then really bugged the attendants for that “catalog with all the gadgets” because he just liked to “look at all the gadgets”, and finally got his come-uppance when the touring Brian fell asleep and leaned over him for the whole flight with his mouth open …