Choices
As I slowly made my way up the airplane aisle looking for my seat, I spotted with an inner sigh of disappointment a biggish man sitting in the seat next to mine. It didn't surprise me that he took up the elbow rest between us and then some. There was a blanket on my seat so I folded it up and used it for lower back support. I'm not convinced that airline blankets are sanitary so that's what I use them for instead of covering myself with it. I buckled myself in and took out a book since you can't use any electronic devices during take-off and was soon immersed in my own little world.
By the time the drinks were served, my seat companion was fast asleep and not quite soundly so I took out my MP3 player to infuse myself with more pleasant sounds as well as the now lukewarm McDonald's sandwich and fries. I meticulously set out my dinner on the tiny serving tray; straightening out the napkins first on the right lower corner, placing the cranberry juice can rigt above the napkins with the cup of ice just left of the can, opening the sandwich box parallel to the rectangular napkins, putting the fries on the upper opened portion of the box and then squeezing out the ketchup bags into a corner of the fries where I made some space, and throwing out the emptied ketchup bags into the to-go bag which was placed loosely squeezed into the space between the serving tray and the airplane sidewall.
I was thoroughly amused by this whole process because I am not normally such a person, but in the confined space I felt more able to express myself deliberately acting out my choices no matter how miniscule or minute they were and every single act or decision made me uniquely me and not just another passenger on the plane. I was delighted that the airline couldn't dictate the music I was listening to or the food I was consuming. After all, it is our ability to make choices that makes us uniquely human.
As I slowly made my way up the airplane aisle looking for my seat, I spotted with an inner sigh of disappointment a biggish man sitting in the seat next to mine. It didn't surprise me that he took up the elbow rest between us and then some. There was a blanket on my seat so I folded it up and used it for lower back support. I'm not convinced that airline blankets are sanitary so that's what I use them for instead of covering myself with it. I buckled myself in and took out a book since you can't use any electronic devices during take-off and was soon immersed in my own little world.
By the time the drinks were served, my seat companion was fast asleep and not quite soundly so I took out my MP3 player to infuse myself with more pleasant sounds as well as the now lukewarm McDonald's sandwich and fries. I meticulously set out my dinner on the tiny serving tray; straightening out the napkins first on the right lower corner, placing the cranberry juice can rigt above the napkins with the cup of ice just left of the can, opening the sandwich box parallel to the rectangular napkins, putting the fries on the upper opened portion of the box and then squeezing out the ketchup bags into a corner of the fries where I made some space, and throwing out the emptied ketchup bags into the to-go bag which was placed loosely squeezed into the space between the serving tray and the airplane sidewall.
I was thoroughly amused by this whole process because I am not normally such a person, but in the confined space I felt more able to express myself deliberately acting out my choices no matter how miniscule or minute they were and every single act or decision made me uniquely me and not just another passenger on the plane. I was delighted that the airline couldn't dictate the music I was listening to or the food I was consuming. After all, it is our ability to make choices that makes us uniquely human.
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