I strode through the airport wearing my iPod and listening to my favorite songs on my way to a business meeting in St. Louis last week.
I felt an overwhelming benevolence for my fellow humankind.
I opened my eyes to the unique, heart-breaking complexity of everyone around me.
I found the intrinsic, sometimes hidden, beauty in every face.
Then, when my colleague met me at the gate, I took the iPod off and we boarded the plane.
A mother and her three year old boy were seated across the aisle from me.
Knowing from experience what the mom was going through traveling with him, I thought about helping her out by interacting with the boy.
But I realized then that I'm not all that benevolent after all.
[I should really keep my iPod ON.]
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Oh, My Largesse
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22 comments:
Since my only experience of interacting with kids on planes is having them kick the back of my seat non-stop for 9 hours, I'd have thought your relative seat positions made interaction genuinely impossible anyway.
Ah yes, how quickly we forget, and then remember, and then attempt to forget.
Sometimes you just need a break from a)kids and b)being nice.
I need A pretty bad, but I won't get around to B until I START being nice one of these days.
;-)
Well, you deserve a little R&R too.
Life can be really beautiful and fun when you're hidden behind an iPod. And preferably sunglasses too.
this makes me want to go back into your archives to read "come fly with me" again - just to laugh all over again at - I mean WITH - you :)
That has happened to me too...mostly in line somewhere when I am alone and some kid is having a total meltdown and I think I could stop this if I tried...
When you are traveling alone... you have every right to enjoy the peace and solitude.
LOL. I can't stand most other pople's kids. Don't blame you at all!
>>people<<, I meant. Not sure what a pople is, but I'm sure I wouldn't have helped them either.
Benevolence only works for woman who have never birthed children.
Ha ha ha. Thinking about flying with own children gives me hives - and I like them.
I'm not that benevolent either.
Yeah. Kindness is a lot more palatable in the abstract. For me. You, you're way kinder than most of us mere mortals ever manage ...
i made THAT mistake on the plane ride home from St. lucia. this kid talked to me the ENTIRE flight and i was all "wait..isn't this what i went on vacation to escape??!?!!"
I remember flying recently with my grandchildren and yes, it raises my blood pressure. And I love them, however any under 10 can be harrowing.
So, yes your best bet was to keep on listening to your i pod. And hope everything remains uneventful.
My best,
Dorothy from grammology
remember to callgram
www.grammology.com
i would have done the same thing. benevolence is over rated at times like that.
There was a frat brother of mine with the last name Largesse, he was thin, but we still called him LargeAss. yeah, it wasn't that funny then either.
I find that benevolence is not aways welcome.
Enjoy your own freedom! Unless you are sitting next to me on a plane, then please help.
LOL... At some point, you just have to avoid mom'ing the entire world, right?
There is nothing like flying the friendly skies to remind one that social interaction is overrated...
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