Air travel used to get me a lot more uptight than it does now, but it still amazes me at how incredibly rude and single minded the typical air traveler is these days.
But let me start on the flip side.
I made my way through O’Hare today as I was on my way to visit family and friends in Pennsylvania. I arrived in plenty of time, checked my bag, and even found the shortest security check line in the place. Naturally I was relaxed and aloof, and as a result unintentionally ignorant to my fellow travelers. When I was going through security check, for example, I left my things on the top of the pile of bins for the x-ray machine and in the way of the woman next to me. I quickly noticed and apologized, and she smiled and it was forgotten. After the check point, as I was putting my shoes and belt back on, I had my things spread all over the bench so no one else could sit. Another traveler approached the bench, and immediately I grabbed my things up with a hasty apology. Again I was met with a smile and “Don’t worry, it’s Sunday.” I apologized to two different people, simply because I was being absent minded and got in their way. And you know what? They appreciated the fact I noticed, was apologetic, and it was smooth sailing.
But not everyone was as good natured as these two women were. I waited at the gate for my seating group to be called, and when it was I stood back and waited a moment for the people in front of me to move up. It became apparent after a moment that they were in the next seating group by the way they were not advancing, so I started forward. At the same time, a middle aged woman behind me was trying to do the same thing, so we intersected and we bumped into each other. Since I sort of cut her off, I turned and made my third apology of the hour, and like the others before, I was sincere. This woman, however, simply glowered at me, and rolled her eyes. Immediately I flipped into modus annoyus, and snipped a slightly less sincere ‘Sorry,’ and continued on my way.
The latter exchange is one that I have observed and encountered most frequently in our nation’s airports. It may start, as it was with me, as an unintentional slight, but depending on the person, the weather, the line at the United counter,whatever, it can turn quite ugly just as quickly as it can be forgotten. It’s because we are naturally self centered people when traveling, moving along int he mind set “I don’t give a care about anyone elses plans, I just want to make my flights on time.” How I choose to behave in this mindset, however, is to be polite and apologetic. Don’t laugh, seriously, the airport is one place I do not wish to cause an issue. Some other people, not so much.
Take for example, last year as Rick and I waited for our flight to Ft. Lauderdale, there was a man sitting next to Rick that I immediately recognized as an annoying customer from my store. He’s the type that bitches, whines and complains about everything, but makes no effort to change for the positive. In the store environment, he complained about what the product couldn’t do, yet then he would buy it, but return it on day 29 of the 30 day return window with the reason that it couldn’t do what he bitched about it not being able to do to begin with! Twice he did this. I chalked him up to be a freak, and dubbed him Snoops, as he looked like the cartoon character Snoops from Disney’s ‘The Rescuers’.
I took notice of Snoops immediately because, as it so happened, I was using with great success the exact item he had twice purchased and returned with the reasoning that it couldn’t do what I was having it do. His expression of disdain was priceless, and moments later he stood up and moved a few feet away with a few colleagues who had just joined him. But I digress. The terminal was extremely crowded, and lines were forming everywhere as people were boarding and deplaning and whatnot. There was one group of passengers having issues trying to board a flight, as it appeared the flight personnel were in no way managing the situation properly. It looked like utter chaos, and I acknowledge had I been in line I would have been pissed. But never in a millions years would I ever say or think the words that Snoops, in disdain yet amused with the whole situation, said next. He turned to his friends, and snarked, “God what a bunch of idiots, they can’t even form a line. I hope that plane crashes and they all die.”
I was stunned, and actually paused to make sure I hadn’t just imagined the comment. Until Rick said a moment later, “Did that man really just say what I think he said?” And at that moment I knew it to be true. The worse part was, he was on our flight, so the entire time I prayed that karma didn’t dish out payback there and then.
What possesses a person to say or act that way in an airport, or for that matter, in a public place? Were these people bothering you? Seriously, that is extreme and vile hatred of your fellow human beings to say something so disgusting. Yes this is a severe example, but the fact is that some people act this way. It’s interesting, as I flash back 6 years to the month after 9/11, and I was flying to PA for a wedding. People in the airport were so genteel, so bending over backwards to be kind and thoughtful of their fellow travelers. It made the whole experience, which at the time was naturally very tense, so much easier. What happened, did everyone get jaded again? Evidently not, as proved by my first two encounters today. But then you meet a Snoops, who is all about him or herself and makes it their business to let you know it’s all about them, and the instinct is to want to punch them and throw them onto the tarmac, bleeding and broken.
Back to today, I settled into my seat, and started getting pissed about the bugged eye bitch who bumped into me. Then I stopped myself: why be this person? Why let their bad vibe infect what had been so far an unusually stress free airport experience? So I shook it off, opened my book, and shrugged off the incident.
As the flight came to an end, and I was gathering my things, I thought I bumped the gentleman next to me, and instinctively said ‘I’m sorry.’ The guy looked up, perplexed, and asked why, to which I told him. I hadn’t, but he was appreciative, and we chatted for a moment. As I left the plane, I smiled. I didn’t let the Snoops infection spread today. Maybe that’s the secret to keeping the skies so friendly. Who knows for sure, but I was enjoying it while it lasts.
Rants of The Misanthrope and other musings 