The middle seat.

Since most people have flown on an airplane, you probably have figured out the seats are not very comfortable unless you are flying business or first class. I rarely, if ever, fly anything but coach so I am very familiar with a little leg room, the person in front of me leaning his seat into my lap, and of course no food on flights. I always feel guilty when I have food with me, but for some reason I lose the guilt after we take off and I am eating.

This blog is not about uncomfortable seats however, it’s about how people try to fit into a small space and sometimes “creep into your territory.” It’s not always their fault, it’s more of a situation where they are larger than the seats and they need to place their bodies in more than one direction. For me, nothing is worse than being on a long flight and having to navigate for the armrest. We have all been there---and we have all won and lost. For some reason, I lose more than I win---it happened today. Luckily it was a short flight.

It’s those who are embarrassed by their size that I really feel bad about; it’s not like they want to squeeze into a small seat and be uncomfortable for the duration of the flight, but like everyone, they need to be somewhere as quickly as possible and air travel is the easiest way to go about it. I have been on a number of flights where the passenger is not able to buckle their seat belt. The first time I had no idea what was going to happen; then I saw the solution happen right before my eyes. The seat buckles that flight attendants use are also extenders---so if you need an extra few inches, these extenders buckle on to the seat belt providing more than enough capacity to buckle you in.

Recently in “Snap. Shot.” I wrote about growing up being an odd size; I have seen basketball players make every attempt to squeeze into seats and overweight people trying to do the same. No matter what, it’s not easy being different.

The photo above was taken a few years ago at a reenactment of a long ago war. Unlike many of the other men in character, this one was much larger than his fellow soldiers; as you can tell he took up more of the bench and there is little doubt he knew it. Being larger is a difficult way to live…the next time you are on an airplane and you see someone walking down the aisle, after you have said your prayers they will not be sitting next to you, take a walk in their shoes. They are likely bigger than yours, but they have quite a story to tell.

Thanks for stopping by.