Belted in and Fuming

I remembered something today. It was an incident on a plane. There are always incidents on planes but this one was a little humbling, and deeply buried within my psyche. Which probably explains it’s surfacing about four or five weeks after the event!

I climbed aboard this particular flight, found my seat, and gladly settled myself for the last of a three flight homeward trip. A woman sat down a couple of seats away, which was unremarkable, apart from the deep chesty coughing fit she was having. She must have coughed up half a lung in the next few minutes. I sat there thinking, brilliant, smoked herself silly, and now the rest of us have to suffer. Can she not get herself under control? I must admit that I got rather irritated and annoyed!

Eventually after frightening most of the passengers, a flight attendant asked her if she was OK. He then fetched a bottle of water. And guess what, it seemed to do the trick.

So simple, yet not one of us morons sitting on the plane gave a moment’s thought to the poor woman unable to breathe. Instead it was all about us and the dire irritation she was causing.

That flight attendant is my new hero. With a dumpy bottle of mineral water he thoroughly quenched my always do good attitude, by actually doing some good!

My new challenge to self, turn irritations into opportunities to assist, instead of self indulgent blame.