Thought of the Day 06.25.10

On my way to Israel last month, I first had a five-hour flight to New York. When most everyone had boarded, I was pleased to see no one sitting next to me in the middle seat. But then I saw an older woman coming down the aisle, who wound up sitting beside me, a fact for which she apologized since, in her words, “I take medication and have to go to the restroom a lot.”

I knew what she was thinking. Americans are selfish, especially on airplanes. They form terribly cruel judgments about people who irritate them, such as children, the obese, those who talk too much, or someone who takes away your cherished extra seat. And they would far rather have someone else suffer the burden of sitting near such people. So when you are one of those people, you shudder to imagine what others might be thinking of you.

Having already thought a bit about this particular scenario, I had a ready answer for her apology. I smiled reassuringly at her and said, “Well, if you have to inconvenience someone, it might just as well be me, right?”