Saturday, November 25, 2006

Thanksgiving is a celebration where families unite to commemorate the pilgrims, show their gratitude for whatever they have and enjoy delicious turkey

I am not particularly tall. While I do prefer to sit on the aisle when travelling on a plane, I still manage to be comfortable and smiling even in a middle seat. So long as the people next to me do not gossip in front of me. I hate gossip.

But gossip was not an issue in today's flight. Far from that.

Running as I was to catch my flight, I had not paid attention to my assigned seat which was a "B" seat, that is a middle seat. I enter the plane, I march down the aisle trying to squeeze between passengers that chat or try to store their belongings, finally i reach the row where my seat is located. I excuse myself, I sit down, I put my backpack underneath the front seat, I lift my head. Once settled, I try to explore the territory that will be hosting me for the next four hours. A man sitting on my right, a woman sitting on my left. Both in their forties. All nice and ordinary you would say. And so it seemed. Silence, silence, silence.

I was parusing a novel that was sitting patiently in my backpack waiting to be read for quite some time. The gentleman next to me was delving into some business reviews. The lady was reading about chinese cuisine. Suddenly it becomes clear that the woman is the mother of three teenagers that occupy the front row, as two of them interrupt momentarily their activities and turn back to ask something.. Another hour goes by. Nothing really special. Then the flight attendant comes and whishes to offer us drinks. To her general question "What would you like to drink?" the woman and the man answer simultaneously "coke". Nothing more, nothing less.

Another hour goes by. The woman takes a nap. The man takes a nap. The rest of the plane is taken by some movie showing on the aiplane screen. Man wakes up, peaks up another business review. Woman wakes up reads about another duck recipe. The captain of the plane announces our upcoming arrival to the destination. Woman closes the recipe book. Man shuts his eyes. We land. Illuminated signs are off, bealts unfastened, people up and stretching. The youngest of the three kids in front of me turns on the back: "Dad, did you enjoy the trip?"

Thanksgiving lasts only one day.

5 comments:

alzap said...

Μπορείς και γίνεσαι τόσο σκληρή;
Καλημέρα απο την ηλιόλουστη Αθηνα.

Anastasia Konstantakatou said...

όταν υπάρχουν παιδιά μπορώ- κανείς δεν έχει το δικαίωμα να τα πληγώνει, ούτε οι γονείς τους.

Pixie said...

I cant believe what I just read.First of all you were sitting in the middle while these people were a couple.Were supposed to be a couple as from what you said they hardly spoke at all.Talking about isolation and lack of communication!
Then the worst was that the parents ignored the children who were sitting alone;lost in their world of light reading.That was quite a social observation!
I did not understand the comment about you being cruel.Far from that.I am glad I was not there to open my mouth

dimitris said...

πρέπει να έχει να κάνει με την ώρα που το διάβασα, γιατί αρχικά δεν κατάλαβα τι σχέση έχει με το thanksgiving (το οποίο δεν ξέρω και πότε ήταν δηλαδή, όχι τίποτε άλλο!)

η ιστορία σου είναι απλά ένα wake up call σε σχέση με την πραγματικότητα στην οποία ζούμε. ο κόσμος δεν είναι ποτέ όπως θα θέλαμε να είναι.

Maquila Donna said...

Ya sea en Thanksgiving Day u otro cualquiera, lo que sucedió en tu viaje es típico: la clara evidencia de que la comunicación entre la humanidad está rota, aun entre los círculos más cercanos, como las familias. Rota por la desconfianza, el egoísmo, y el desamor.

Abrazos.

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