So, I'm on airplane flying from Dallas back to New York. At DFW, I noticed a few groups of people I usually don't like to see get on my airplane, namely religious figures and teenagers on a school trip, if only because they're fixtures in airplane disaster movies.

The flight turned out to be one of the worst I've ever taken. Awful weather in the Northeast kept us circling LaGuardia for 90 minutes. The pilot attempted one landing, only to pull back up at what seemed like the last minute. Next to me sat a couple, and the wife held onto her husband and I could see she was praying.

On this flight were two monks (remember, the aversion to flying with men or women of the cloth). One was in his mid 20s. The other must have been in his mid 80s, and was in bad shape. They both wore long grey robes with sandals and had matching beards.

I walked by their row at one point to go the bathroom and noticed the younger monk reading a magazine. On one page was an ad that looked like the classic pitch for the milk industry. But instead of the words "Got Milk?" the ad said "Got Monks?"

Who knew monks had their own magazine? I know many remain silent as part of their devotion. But even they need something to pass the time. And on a flight like that one, I ended up happy the monks were there.