Tuesday, April 01, 2008

I realized I didn't give an exercise update in the last post. I haven't been to the gym in far too long, but I will give myself 3 miles credit for Washington walking (I promise it's a very conservative estimate), so that would be 6.5 miles for March, 59.5 miles for 2008. I will try to get these numbers up in April. Still that's 60 more miles than most of my years.

I'm not sure whether Christianity or interpersonal relationships or both are being exploited by this book, but something's getting defamed.

I had an experience on the flight to Virginia/DC that prompted me to try to write a My Turn essay for Newsweek. Unfortunately I've typed it out and thought on it a few days, and haven't been able to get it more than half the required length so I'm just posting it here. Enjoy if you'd like, or just skip it and wait for the next post.


Fellow airline passengers treat each other much like most common travelers. We avoid looking at each other more than we have to; we shuffle through too few lines of traffic; we cut each other off in those lines or getting to the overhead compartment, sometimes offering an apologetic gesture or look to assuage our guilt. I see one major difference though - if I walk through a crowded hall or driving on a freeway, nobody slams their weight into my knees.

On a recent flight, I noticed a teenage girl taking the seat in front of me and thought/hoped/self-deluded she wouldn't lean back. As soon as the plane was in the air, though, that seat came flying back as far as it could while she curled up catlike in the seat. Having experienced far too many seat-slams, I'd placed my knees at an angle and no contact was made. Over the course of the 3-hour flight, I put my legs in a closer-to-straight position (this counts as stretching for me on an airplane), only to discover her faith that the seat could go back farther as she regularly pushed hard against the seat back to see if it would go further. At one point, even the flight attendant noticed the situation and said loudly, "Wow I hope she's comfortable up there!"

I take some of the blame - I'm 6'5", so my knees are closer to the seat in front of me than most peoples'. And the airlines can take their share of the responsibility too, as they constantly take away more and more space from each passenger. However the loudest lamenters of this reduced personal space usually try to increase their own allotment by leaning back into mine. I've had people throw the seat back actually into my knees, and not move even when I yelp audibly. I've had seats come back just after the beverage cart passes through, splashing my drink onto my pants. One gentleman, on being able to feel my knees in his seat, thought they were problems with the seat and ground his elbows into the "lumps."

I have tried to explain this to leaners with a light tap on the shoulder and a friendly request to move the seat forward at least a little bit. The look I get usually implies my knees are invading their personal space, and while they accept a compromise position, they usually forget and repeat the action in an amazingly small span of time.

I'm not asking people to not lean their seats, just to use some courtesy when they do. Look back and check with the person behind you before leaning your surprisingly heavy seat towards them, especially if drinks have been served. I promise to give you as much space as I can, and most of my fellow long-legged passengers will do the same. And all of our knees will live happily ever after.
posted by Unknown 11:12 PM | 2 comments