For Project Runway fans

Richard and I both, together as well as separately, often travel under a dark grey cloud of bad luck and disaster - where mishaps and misadventures, delays and false starts, problems, issues, what have you, follow us around.

Today wasn't one of those days.

We awoke at 4 AM in order to get to the airport by 5 AM, for a 6:15 flight.  I knew we had too much stuff, too many bags, and that our bags are on the heavy side.  (Turned out to be VERY heavy.)  Remember, they couldn't be weighed when we left St. Thomas, the scale was broken.  Today we found out how heavy they really were.

So I figured we could do the curbside check in - the guys are a bit more lax on the rules, they give customers a break, plus there is less waiting in line.  We lined up, and piled up our bags.

The nice young check in guy asked the lady in front of me her name, had her spell it, and looked up her flight.  Her voice had that lilt of West Africa that is so reminiscent of my Peace Corps years, so I listened in to the conversation.

"Mah name is Momolu.  M-o-m-o-l-u.  Momolu."

And a light bulb went off in my sleep-deprived brain.  I knew that name.  That was one of the designers a few years back on Project Runway, Korto Momolu, one of my favorite designers, a young woman originally from Liberia, who incorporated African beading and fabrics into her runway fashions, and who made it into the final three (and actually was first runner up her year!).

I politely waited until there was a pause, the check in guy was printing and tagging, and I said, "Excuse me, you said your name is Momolu.  Are you related to Korto Momolu?"  The woman turned and looked at me in surprise;  "Yes," she said, "I'm her mother."

"Ah, I loved her on Project Runway.  Please tell her you met a big big fan, and I love her work.  And I was Peace Corps Liberia, so she was very special to me on the show.  Meeting you, I feel like I'm meeting a celebrity!"

This women just beamed at me, grabbed my arm, gave me a half hug, thanked me, told me she's off to see her daughter's new show in California, that she's still designing - it was a wonderful little interlude!

http://www.kortomomolu.com/

And we saw new designs by many of the former top Project Runway contenders in New York for Fashion Week - including Korto's - in a window display.  (Of course, I don't remember the store, I was taken with her fabulous radial-seamed black cocktail dress.)


Anyway, Mrs. Momolu left, it was our turn, our bags were way heavy, so we shifted around some items, balanced our three checked bags, gave Mr Sweet Check In Guy a very nice tip, and headed off to our flight.  (I told him he had just checked in the mother of a celebrity!)  Our flight left on time, we made our connection in good time, and arrived in New Orleans to find the AARP National Convention!!!  So there are thousands of people in our general age group (and much older) wandering around wearing red conference tags and carrying info bags.  We look like pros, walking around NOLA without the conference tags, LOL!

Just one of those days when EVERYTHING goes even better than planned!