However i'm getting ahead of myself. The real reasons I lov flying are all the little things, and I do mean little. What airline executive tested out the chairs and said, "well these are just too big, there is just an inordinate amount of room. we don't want them thinking they've become members of the leisure class. For heavens sake! see if we can't jam in 2 or 7 more rows on this aluminum contraption." And that my dear readers, was the day that claustrophobia came into being.
I actually do love the little drinks, it is just enough to quench your thirst, but not enough to make you need to pee--which is a total blessing because the last thing i want to do with 100+ people watching me is go to the bathroom.
I also love the little stewardess. That might sound insensitive, but it isn't. She was a cute older asian-american with big glasses and a scarf showing her awareness of breast cancer. There was something about her personality that I think was getting on some peoples nerves (I don't think I've ever seen so many eyes roll so far into the back of peoples heads before). She, however, did not bother me. We totally got along, and I completely understood why she was repeating herself, especially to "frequent fliers"--People don't listen. It doesn't matter how many times you've flown an airplane, there is no fine print that allows you to disregard the rules because you know better, there is also no excuse for you to assume that your small coffin you have in tow is anything close to carry-on size. If these people would just listen from the get go my cute Asian-American-breast-cancer-aware stewardess wouldn't need to keep repeating herself at the top of her lungs.
back to the chair situation. I was able to book the last seat with extended leg room. I was all set to enjoy my flight when a woman came and sat next to me. I'll just come right out and say it, she was morbidly obese, and with the seatbelt extended to its furthest possible limits it was an amazingly tight fit. if the air marshall had seen this take place i'm sure he would have done something.
Here is my deal. I honestly do have a problem with tight spaces, so flying isn't the best fit for me, however it only makes matters worse when someone's back and sides are flopping over into my space.
I don't fault her for being overweight. while I don't believe in the "its my genes" argument I'll admit that the food available to almost all of society is nutrient deficient. What I do fault her for is the ensuing conversation we had. (transcript to follow)
lady: I'm sorry do you have enough room?
me: Oh yes thank you! (glancing politely, acknowledging presence, but said with the subtle anxiety which often accompanies claustrophobic anxieties).
Lady: Oh good, cause on my last flight the skinny lady next to me kept hitting her elbow into my side, and I was like GOSH you've got plenty of room, I'm stuck here next to the window and the wall.
me: (said something, that probably came out as an awkward sympathy laugh, but it also could have sounded like I was swallowing live fish...i'm not really sure at this point because I started to notice a bad stench that was a culmination of body odor and the stinky baby behind me).
While I feel bad that this woman has such a hard time fitting into normal seats it is certainly not the fault of "the skinny lady" who paid handsomely for her three cubic feet of space. If you are going to spill over outside of your space then you should probably be paying for it as well.
Anyway, i hope you all have a great day. My siblings are all here, and I haven't seen them or their kids in way too long. I'll write soon
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