Sophie finished explaining the situation to her friends Mac and Leigh. The tension hung in the air for half a second and then Mac was off.
In a five-minute monologue, Mac defined the problem as he saw it and offered seven solutions, each with pros and cons. Finally, he arrived at a conclusion about the best course of action.
Mac took a pause and Sophie turned to Leigh. “What do you think?”
“I need to think about it,” Leigh said. “I have a long runway.”
“What do you mean?” Sophie asked.
“I need some time to organize everything before my thoughts take off. I am a plane that needs a lot of space to be able to get off the ground.”
Mac jumped in, “You had all of the time I was talking to think.”
“But you’re a helicopter,” Leigh said. “You just take off from a helipad, then you’re in the air. But every turn of the blade is more information I need to take in to make a decision. It’s hard to think when you’re around a helicopter.”
“I’ve never heard of this!” Mac said, smiling, “I am like a helicopter.”
“My friend Eli has a long runway,” Sophie said. “He’s thoughtful, but you sometimes want to jump ahead of him to answer. It’s hard to outlast the pauses.”
“What’s the benefit though?” Mac asked.
“Well, helicopters get off the ground quickly, but they can only travel from island to island. A jet needs a long runway to take off, but then it can cross whole oceans,” Sophie said.
Mac had no introspection on this point. “So we just let you think, Leigh?”
Leigh nodded and the two friends sat there for a moment watching Leigh think.
“So should we like go get a coffee and come back or will you have thoughts soon?” Mac asked.
Sophie shushed Mac. “You’re helicoptering again!”