Back in the days before LDS industrialist and philanthropist Jon M. Huntsman Sr. made a corporate jet available for church leaders' travels, members of the Church News staff traveled throughout the nation and world with them.

Before that private jet came on the scene, and when President Gordon B. Hinckley was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, we often flew on the same commercial flights with President Hinckley and his wife, Marjorie, and shared rides to and from airports and venues where church events were held. From time to time, we ate at the same table in hotel restaurants. Many opportunities to see him among members and the general public throughout the church abounded.

International travel, under the best circumstances, can be tiring and stressful, yet President Hinckley took the challenges in stride. A delay at one airport was met with a sigh and a declaration by President Hinckley that went to the heart of the matter: "I guess we'd better find a comfortable place to wait."

Thirty years ago — or even 20 — we didn't have the technological links to home base that are taken for granted today. A wait in an airport didn't include the use of a cell phone or laptop to communicate with someone who wasn't physically present. We talked, and talk often ranged from thought-provoking to something bordering on idle chat, as when a rather in-depth discussion unfolded about what constituted the perfect suitcase and the quest to find it.

"I've tried just about everything out there," President Hinckley commented during a wait at a boarding gate in London. "This bag (a carry-on with wheels) is about the best I've found."

One vivid airport scene is of President Hinckley walking down a concourse, tugging two carry-on cases — one belonging to him and the other to Sister Hinckley. By then, he was a counselor in the First Presidency. For some reason, the thought emerged that he shouldn't have to lug around suitcases. But he seemed perfectly content carrying out that task.

Whether being welcomed by the king and queen of Spain at their country palace, meeting dignitaries in China, shaking hands with elderly church members in Mexico, smiling at children in Korea or interacting with many other people in various places in the world, President Hinckley always communicated the feeling that the people he was greeting were important. As the years passed and world situations dictated more security measures, his one-on-one contact with people lessened. However, his interest in them didn't.

"Tell me about some of the people you met," he said to me as we neared the end of one trip.