On the plane from Richmond to Dallas I had the profound misfortune of sitting in front of a girl and her mother who were flying back home to the west coast, after having picked the daughter up at her east coast school. Normally, I don't really pay attention to the intricate, and sometimes complicated, squabbles of couples, families, or friends who are within the same enclosed vicinity because I can block them out with my iPod; however, when the captain informs me that I must turn off all electrical devices, it leaves my ofttimes abused ears too their mercy. This girl was seriously loud; seriously entitled; and seriously obnoxious--obnoxious enough that I wrote down a list of things I wanted to say to her, but wouldn't because in the retelling of it, she'd make herself sound like a victim.
The list as written:
1. I understand that you're frustrated about your flight being delayed (due to uncontrollable forces such as weather) because we all feel that way; however, that doesn't mean it's time to leave respect for your fellow travelers by the wayside. Truly, even an iota of respect in situations where everyone is feeling annoyed, frustrated, and intolerably put upon goes very far.
1a. You're complaining about not getting to go out and have a nice dinner as you planned--which sucks, don't get me wrong--meanwhile the really nice, soft-spoken woman directly behind you has had her flight home canceled completely. Imagine what she must be dealing with as she attempts to make other flight arraignments in a bid to get home.
2. The entire plane doesn't need to know how freaked out you are about take off. Seriously, if you're that close to having a panic attack, than maybe you should go to your doctor and ask them about a possible prescription for Xanax. Be proactive; be the change that will make future flights better for everyone else. Perhaps you should look into transferring to a school on the west coast. I'm sure your fellow students at William & Mary won't mind.
3. Your mother, in total, will have flown around 6,000 miles to collect you from college, which makes her pretty damn awesome in my opinion. If you could maybe get off your high horse you could perhaps thank her for picking you up. Yelling and/or talking down to the woman whose body bore you belongs firmly in the realm of unacceptable behavior--in fact you oughtn't yell or talk down to anyone.
3a. Furthermore, I shouldn't have to shame you into apologizing to your mother by calling my own and telling her that I love and appreciate her.
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