Wow, it has been awhile since I have written. It has been a crazy few weeks. My husband was out of town, then last week, I was out of town, and I am going to be leaving again on Thursday. I will be glad to be home for good and not have to travel anymore for awhile.
I had the opportunity to go to Bellevue, WA for an Adobe CS3 training. We covered four programs in three days! It was a lot of information and I am still unpacking everything I learned. I got some really good tips for my classroom and I am exited by some of the new features and shortcuts available with the new Suite. Anything that makes my job easier is definitely appreciated. I am going to Philadelphia this week to receive a certification I earned at the end of last year. I am glad my boss is letting me go to pick it up in person because it tells me he recognizes how hard I worked for this certification and that it is important.
I like to travel, see new places, experience different environments. I just don't like to fly. It is all about the lack of control, basically from the moment you walk in the airport. First you have to get half undressed to get through security. Sometimes it is quick, other times you worry you will miss your plane. Once on the plane, you have no say of who sits by you, or more importantly, who is flying the darn thing! I used to love to fly when I was young, but the older I get, the more nervous it makes me. I was pretty scared to go to WA because it was the first time since I was a teen that I would be flying all by myself, getting to my hotel, and being completely on my own for four days. The plane was a prop plane which kind of freaked me out. I started to get really freaked out once the engine started - one at a time... I prayed and asked for peace. God answered my prayer immediately. I felt a calmness come over me that stayed with me for the rest of the trip, even through the turbulence due to stormy skies. So I was prepared for a peaceful ride home. I had my book ready. I had my Zune all charged up. (By the way, we just bought the Zune and I LOVE it! It is really user friendly and has tons of room for music.) The waiting area was really crowded and I knew it would be a full flight. I had a seat to myself on the way there. Well, I got settled in my seat and this man is walking down the aisle. I was thinking, Oh no, please not here. Sure enough, he is right next to me. He really needed to buy two seats. Now this is a small plane. The seats are small and close together. I am by the window, trying to make myself smaller as he is shoving himself into the seat next to me. He asks the stewardess for a seat belt extender. Don't you think if you need a seat belt extender that you need to buy two seats? I look around and see if there are any free seats anywhere. Not a one. So he finally gets settled and I squish over to the side. Every time I get a fraction of an inch between my leg and his, his flab squishes over into my seat. I was miserable. I felt like I suffocating. I wanted to scream. His huge body cramming into my little space brought back feelings from my past. I just tried to listen to my music and tune him out as best I could. It is really hard to tune out someone touching you though. When I got off the plane I just let my husband hold me for awhile. I really wanted to cry, I was so stressed by the situation. After I got a little distance, as in a few days away from the situation, I wondered if I could have been different. I judged him straight off the bat, I was disgusted and then overwhelmed by his physical presence, I just tried to curl up inside of myself and get as far away from him as I could. Not very Christ like was it? But in the moment, it seemed to be all I could do. I also feel like he could have scooted more to his side. I think he either didn't care, or he did it purposely. Yuck.
Anyway, I hope for a better flight on Thursday - one where I am not squished in my seat by some fat man that has no manners. I know some people use plane flights as a way to witness to whomever sits next to them. I just hope I am calm and don't have to sit next to anyone creepy. Sometimes I think I have a long way to go. I need to remember that it about the journey, not the destination. I have come a long way to be able to travel on a plane to a strange city by myself. Well, not by myself really, since I am never alone. So, I will take the next trip one step at a time and hope for the best.
1 comment:
Kimberly, I can't speak for the man sitting next to you because I don't know how big he was or what was in his mind when he was there, but I can speak from my own experience.
There are times when I have to ask for a seat belt extender myself, it really depends on the plane. I also know that I don't like touching people next to me either, but when you are very out of shape you don't have a whole lot of muscles to keep your fat away from others. When I try, after a short time I can feel the muscles in my leg quivering and it is very exhausting to do it, especially if it is a long flight.
I always choose an aisle seat so I can hang out into the aisle to help the situation.
There is also the problem of the arm rest. It works as a good barrier, but it can also be very painful if it is pressing into your leg for a couple hours. Plus, they usually have the button to put your seat back on the side that is between you and person next to you. When your leg is pressing into it, your seat keeps leaning back even when you don't want it to (like during takeoff and landing, when it's required to be up). The only remedy to that is to put the arm rest up, but then you are touching your neighbor. There is just no winning situation. I know whenever I fly, I always pray the the seat next to me will be empty.
I am not sure why that gentleman was flying, but maybe he couldn't afford to buy two seats. Maybe he was on a business trip and his company wouldn't pay for a second seat. Maybe he was travelling to a funeral at the last minute and even with a bereavement fare the one seat he got was outrageously priced.
I can't say why and I am not trying to make excuses for him, I am just sharing the perspective of a fat person.
Love,
Becki
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