Thread by @Maria_Tureaud

It was March of 2014. Our son was 7 months old, and what was meant to be a happy occasion--the first time my extended family met our miracle boy--was marred by the passing of my beloved grandfather 3 months prior. I hadn't been able to make it home for the funeral #RevPit (1

https://twitter.com/Maria_Tureaud/status/1381485627074605056

The trip itself was grand--going house-to-house, eating scones, filling up on tea at every stop, and visiting graves (as a culture, we have an interesting relationship with death). Trips home for me are never relaxing. They're excitement, then sadness, mixed with jetlag (2

And to make it worse, the return flight from Shannon used to always be at 9:05am (thanks United), which meant we always had to be at the airport at 6 for check-in...which meant rising at 5...and the long tearful goodbye that no one should have to do before coffee (3

That trip was like all others...except we had an extremely cranky 7 month old to contend with. We lugged ourselves through security, then immediately went through US security, then Customs (Ireland is one of the countries where all that happens in the airport of origin (4

I was crying, as I usually am when I leave. Going from a whirlwind of love and people who care about me, back to the throes of a foreign country with none but my husband--and now my bebe--for company always does me in. Anyway. As we sat at the gate, I was distracted (5

Normally, the gate is quiet. Lots of people sitting around, tired. I'm lucky my mother's house is only 20mins from Shannon. Most others likely had to get up earlier than us and travel further. But the gate wasn't quiet that day. It was a-buzz. And as I glanced around... (6

I noticed a few people holding up their cell phones. What in the...? I nudged my husband. What's happening? He says I'm awful nosy, I say I'm Irish, shut up. There's a group of Americans standing near the desk at the gate. Boisterous. Laughter. But as I watch, (7

smiling people begin to break away from the group and...excitedly go sit with their respective travel partners at the gate. Weird. Whatever. At this point, I knew I should change bebe's diaper before they call for boarding. So bebe and I went to the restroom, & on the way back(8

I grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the little cafe. Now, I was juggling the following: bebe, diaper bag, two bottles of water, and 2 sandwiches. Huffing, I walked past the gate desk, and of course, I dropped a water. It rolled right where the crowd was before, but it had (9

since dispersed. Crap. Bebe, sandwiches, diaper bag, tired, dropped water bottle. But as I was figuring out how to stoop to grab it, a kind gentleman sprang from the gate desk and scooped it from the ground. "Here you go!" he exclaimed. Ermergerd thank you, says I. (10

And then I look at him. Weird. Super familiar face. He's dressed for a flight--super casual, 5 o'clock shadow, knitted hat. You know, chill. I smile, as I do, & he smiles in return, & I'm struck by how WHITE his TEETH are. Good God! I feel like I know him, bt he's American (11

He's with a group of guys, and there's an elderly Irish woman with them. From what I gathered from snippets, she was on the stand-by list, but had something she HAD to get on that flight for, and the group of guys are helping with it. I return to my husband (12

At this point, you THINK you know who the gentleman was...but you'd be wrong. Anyway, I return, hand over bebe and sandwiches, and pull out my phone. I'd post a quick goodbye on FB (to my friends)...but that guy's face was annoying me. I ask my husband (13

if he recognizes him. Nope. I frown. So I post my goodbye, then note in the post that there's a to-do at the gate. Sure enough, after I post, more people are now approaching the guys. More laughter, more cell phone. Now there's a selfie in progress. (14

My phone dinged, and I'm pretty sure it was @PaddyOutback who responded to my FB post, excitedly, to tell me wtf was going on...

It was Paul Rudd 😲 (15

PAUL RUDD????? Yes folks. Apparently he'd been in Ireland that same week with a group of his friends on a week-long bachelor party (his own), and was flying back from Shannon. WE WERE ON THE SAME FLIGHT. I grabbed my husband's arm so hard he yelped. "It's Paul Rudd,' I hissed (16

Hubs was like, no...because surely there was a lounge or something he'd be chilling in. Not hanging out at the gate desk for every a-hole to annoy him at like 8.30am (my hubs is NOT a morning person). But it was. It was him! And I opened my camera app. Time for a sneaky pic (17

I got a few fuzzies, and posted one on FB, but no one could see anything. DAMN IT! They called for boarding (business class first), and the boys at the gate desk boarded, along with the elderly woman. They left one of their friends behind--a tall slim man. But...(18

now I was annoyed I didn't get a photo of Mr. Rudd. About 5 mins later, the tall slim man boarded as they called for special boarding. That was us! Bebe meant we could board before the rest of economy and get settled! Huzzah! We handed in our boarding passes (19

walked the corridor thing, stepped on the plane, turned right for economy, & came face-to-face with the tall slim dude who was with Rudd. "Oh hey, excuse me," he said, and slid into his seat so we could pass. But I was frozen. Eyes wide.

It was Bobby Canavale. In economy (20

He...wasn't as big and tough in RL as I thought he would be. Barely taller than me (I'm 6ft), slim, looking a little bedraggled...but there he was. He knew I recognized him, and he grinned. Wide. I was a huge Boardwalk Empire fan, and my face went RED. RED I TELL YOU! (21

Now I was holding up the boarding, so, with my heart racing, I literally said "OH MY GOD," out loud, and as I started walking toward our seats, he chuckled. When we got settled--we were maybe 3 rows from the back--I freaked out. My hubs was all no way (22

And then I put two-and-two together. It was very likely that Bobby Canavale gave up his business class seat to that elderly lady so she could have a comfortable flight, and he took her standby seat in economy. What a gem! (23

We took off. Bebe fell asleep--thank you bebe--and about 4 hours in, I noticed that Bobby was standing near the bathroom. He was stretching, as you do on a long flight. WHEN SUDDENLY, a passenger decided to join him. Youngish dude. Also American. (24

Bobby was smiling at first, then I saw him pointing toward the back of the plane. Now, Bobby's seat was literally the first row of the economy cabin. The one next to the toilet with all the leg room. But he was trying to get around--and away from--this dude. (25

he started walking, trying to get around dude...but dude started walking backward down the aisle, all the while chatting Bobby's ear off. Bobby was smiling and nodding, clearly uncomfortable now. (26

It was clear Bobby was 'going for a walk,' which is what older peeps do on long flights to help their circulation (super annoying if you're in an aisle seat, but also important). He hadn't anticipated this guy turning into a clinger (27

At that moment, bebe woke with a vengeance. I think maybe his ears were popping, because he started SCREAMING! OMFG the screaming! I panicked, because I'm very considerate of others in general, so I held him to my chest and started shushing and bouncing, as you do (28

I started to cry (I was suffering from PPD at the time, and would wait another month before seeking treatment. Yep, 8 months without treatment), and Bobby's gaze locked onto mine over dude's shoulder (29

"Hey man," he said to the guy. Now, they were literally only 3 rows ahead of where we sat. "We woke the baby, let's pick this up another time." Dude turned around to look at me and bebe. I'm red-eyed and red-faced at this point. How effing embarrassing. Bebe screamed again (30

At this point, one of the stewards approached from behind where we were sitting, and asked dude and Bobby to please return to their seats as they were about to begin drinks service. Bobby clapped the guy on the shoulder, and they did this weird squeeze-around each other thing (31

Bobby was determined to get to the back of the plane, far from dude, and told the steward he'd wait back there until drinks were served. (32

He kept moving. I was shushing bebe, and btw, also sitting on the aisle.

When he reached our row, he stopped, and leaned over. Then said:

"You're doing great, Ma." I almost died.

Then he glanced at bebe and said: "Thanks little guy. You saved me." Then went on his way (33

My husband, confused, stared as Bobby continued away, twisting his neck, then elbowed me.

"HOLY SHIT," he said. "That's the guy from Boardwalk Empire! WTF is he doing in economy????"

And now you all know my hubs isn't the most observant person in the world, lol. (34

And that's the story of how my son saved Bobby Canavale, at the tender age of 7 months old.

I was reminded of it last night, as I watched ThunderForce on Netflix, lol. Fin.