Stretch (Travel part two)

So, I am going to blog out of order regarding my recent trip to the Midwest, or the Great Plains states as some of them like to be called, distinguishing themselves from the rest of the middle states.

I am here waiting for my return flight from Kansas City to Denver.  I picked up my ticket and got my seating assignment.  It is an aisle seat and a few rows back from the front.  I have arrived well before takeoff and for a while, I am one of the few for this early morning flight. However, at time nears, more and more people are arriving. 

So many, that waiting seats are few, and we begin to hear these announcements.  “Folks we have a full flight this morning and almost all seats will be occupied.  We need some room for carry-on baggage.  If some of you would like to check your bag to ease the space issue it will be appreciated and at no cost (checked bags are $20 for this airline).”

I must have heard this message four or five times.  I only had a backpack that would slip under the seat and not in the compartment above, so it really did not apply to me.  As it got nearer and nearer the time to board, the counter was also calling out passenger’s names to, I assumed, find out if they had arrived and had checked in.

Until I heard my name being called.  They were asking me to come to the counter.  So, up I got, losing my coveted waiting chair and headed to the counter.  After confirming that it was me, the airline person said, “As you know, we have a very full flight with 168 passengers (uh-oh, I can almost hear what’s coming), we were wondering if it would be okay to upgrade your seat to out Stretch seating.  I has a lot more legroom and is quite comfortable.  Would that be fine?”

In my whirling mind, I am replaying this conversation with my own twists. “I know you ordered the grilled cheese, but would you mind if we switched that to our full prime rib dinner with all of the trimmings?” Um, yeah.  Do you really have to ask?

I turn in my regular ticket and the give me the new one.  Stretch seating.  In addition, I get to be one of the first ones to board.  And, suddenly the title Mr. and Sir is being thrown my way.  I find my seat “3C” and I place my backpack under the one in front of me and stretch those legs out.  I can barely touch the seat in front of me.  Now this is living. Or flying.

As the other people board, my I notice a severely distraught woman, eyes puffy from crying, and little drops of water still oozing from both eyes. I am thinking, it must have been a bad breakup.

The man behind her, her husband, kisses her and sits next to me as his teary eyed wife moves past our seating towards the rear of the plane.  As we were getting ready to taxi onto the runway and the doors of the plane are closing, he asks me if I wouldn’t mind switching seats with her as she is terrified or flying.  “She a few rows back and will be the one clutching on tightly to her sweatshirt.”  I am glad it wasn’t a breakup. It was just agonizing fear.

I said sure and asked a flight attendant if it would be all right if I switched with her as she was very frightened.  She replied, “If you want to.”  And off I go to my new seat.  Good-bye stretch seating.  Hello, tighter space.  As his wife sobs uncontrollably and thanks me profusely, I squeeze my backpack and myself into my several rows from the front aisle accommodations.

During the flight, another flight attendant came to me and said, “I heard you gave up your stretch seating for that woman.  That was so kind of you.  We want to offer you free TV for your flight or a complementary drink on us.”

I politely say no to the TV and to the drink.  One, because neither of those options sounded good to me, and two, the woman sitting next to me called me nice and generous man.  How could I profit from my gesture?  While I am grateful for being called nice and for the flight attendant to think me chivalrous, I could not accept any praises whatsoever.  For the following reasons.

First, I had been upgraded to seat 3C with the stretch seating only minutes before I boarded the airline.  Second, I got to spend seven minutes with fully extended legs.  And third, the seat that I had switched with the woman was, in fact, the original seat that I had had in the first place.

“The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.”