What would you do?January 16th, 2008 @ 5:01 am
Let’s say, for instance, that you recently flew on a plane. And let’s just say, for instance, that you flew with your 21 month son child on your lap. And let’s say, you know, that you were lucky enough to score an empty seat for said child. And, for the sake of fun, let’s say that a complete stranger decided to take the seat next to you and your child.
And, because this is fun, let’s say that this complete stranger (who is, let’s be honest, a little different) began to assign herself the title of Your New Best Friend, even though you didn’t know the title was up for grabs. So much so that when you found out you were both on the same return flight (oh Lord!) this complete stranger quickly promised to save you and your child a seat*.
(Do people do this? I mean, I’ve heard of saving seats at the movie theater or maybe in your junior high school cafeteria, but on an airplane? Really?)
What is the appropriate etiquette for telling someone; “thanks for waiting for me and my precious child at the front of the plane, but really, I’m sure I can find my own seat. Thanks you also for the toy you bought my kid while you were on vacation. It really was thoughtful. But dude, you are a complete and utter stranger. And frankly, you’re a little odd!”
And then what do you do when the person who, thankfully, wasn’t able to find a seat near your on the plane, is there to greet you when you final exit the plane with one of those electrical cart that she reserved for you and your child? You know, so that you could “chat on the way to baggage claim”.
Seriously, what do you do in a situation like this?! Essentially you are stuck in a little room with this person for hours, in the air, so you can’t be too hostile, right?
(Thank the sweet Baby Jesus that she didn’t ask me my friend for her contact information. I’m My friend’s not good about coming up with fake e-mail addresses on the spot.)
*We flew Southwest. Which does not have assigned seats. Don’t judge me. It’s cheap.
I Rock · Vacations
Molly
said,
January 16, 2008 at 5:26 am
WOW. That’s wayyyyyy over the top. I’d probably be scared, but sit next to the stranger because I’m often too polite for my own good.
So glad she didn’t ask for your info.
Nic
said,
January 16, 2008 at 5:52 am
Okay, that is way weird. I think I probably would have said, “Thanks but no thanks” and tried to get away. That is way weird, and a little sad because she probably thought you were great friends and clearly she is not a good judge of such things. Or, you know, boundaries.
super des
said,
January 16, 2008 at 5:59 am
I’m totally rude when i want to be, so you don’t know what I would have done.
Loralee
said,
January 16, 2008 at 6:59 am
Some people have no awareness of boundaries. It makes it tough to know what to do.
Jezer
said,
January 16, 2008 at 11:32 am
First, I love SW airlines. Their safety presentations always crack me up.
Second, what a freak! Except I kind of kept picturing her as an elderly lady (maybe it was the electric cart that did that), and in that case, I could almost be OK with it. Almost.
At least you didn’t have to do the ol’ email swap. I’m never good at faking those either.
Isabel: For the record, she was not elderly. She was probably about 40.
Liza
said,
January 16, 2008 at 2:01 pm
I think I might have tried to corner a flight attendant while “taking Babboo to the bathroom” and asked them to help. I bet they deal with similar situations pretty regularly, b/c of the whole no-assigned-seats thing.
Also? I really can’t see people judging you for flying cheap.
Operation Pink Herring
said,
January 16, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Holy crap. CRAZY PERSON. I get pissed off when people just talk to me on planes (hello, I do not fly to make friends. I just want to read my book and be left alone), this would have stressed me out SO MUCH. I hate plane conversations because there’s no easy way to end them. You’re stuck until the flight ends, and then it’s an awkward “well, we’ll never see you again… nice chatting”.
I am so antisocial. If you want to commiserate, we can talk about the time I got stuck sitting next to a big important person from work so I couldn’t change into my sweats and I had to wear a suit and make smart-sounding small talk for the whole trip!!
anna
said,
January 16, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Having a toddler (or two) with you either makes people super chatty, or think you are the worst person on the plane.
Like Jezer, I also pictured a rich older grandmotherly type, which maybe excuses some of it. Perhaps she thought you guys looked like special people. Don’t get me wrong, she still sounds like a whack job. Next time I would try really hard not to mention flight info. Saving return seats is a little strange.
Carrisa
said,
January 16, 2008 at 3:07 pm
You’re just so well liked. People can’t help but want to be your friend.
Durga
said,
January 16, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Could this stranger be one of those weird “love thy neighbour” charitable Christians by any chance?I encounted a few of those strangers while in America myself…seriously those people are just too…I donno…1950’s small townish. The City dweller in me that doesn’t know my neighbour in the apartement next door…is uncomfortable with those types.
ali
said,
January 16, 2008 at 4:10 pm
the creep factor = WAY too high
Rachel
said,
January 16, 2008 at 4:27 pm
That’s kinda creepy. I don’t know what I would do, pretend I’m sleeping or that I don’t speak english.
heidikins
said,
January 16, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Oh HELL no… so not ok. I would have put on a SARS mask and pretended you were highly contagious… but, then, she’d probably whip out her SARS home-remedy and insist on helping you apply it.
Freaky.
xox
Anth
said,
January 16, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Uh, eek.
And I would never ever judge you for flying cheap.
Angela
said,
January 16, 2008 at 6:09 pm
First of all, I heart Southwest, and anyone who would judge you for flying cheap is looney toons!
Second, that is SUPER creepy and I honestly don’t know what I would do in that situation. How incredibly uncomfortable…
Rhi
said,
January 16, 2008 at 6:18 pm
My family is Finnish, and Finns are well known for not wanting to talk to each other, so this is something my family would refer to as a Finn’s Worst Nightmare.
And, I travel a lot for work and I seriously fear this all the time. So, I try to keep a scowl on my face AT ALL TIMES. That might scare Babboo, but it would stop people from talking to you
Danielle
said,
January 16, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Ew, awkward!
My strategy is usually to always opt for a window seat, plop in the earbuds, and read a book…but yeah, that’s not really an option when you are flying solo with your child.
You did the nice thing, though, and probably made her very happy!
Christar
said,
January 16, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Yea, way over the top. Creepy.
You could have always pulled the Elaine Bennis from Seinfeld… where she doesn’t want to talk to the car service driver, so she pretends she’s deaf. Except she gets caught not being deaf. And it might have been a little hard to convince someone you’re going deaf unless you started it from the beginning.
alyndabear
said,
January 16, 2008 at 6:45 pm
I’d smile politely, keep up a friendly facade and then hightail it out of there as soon as possible. (Preferably when you’re on land, that is.)
You must have a super friendly face!
Maria
said,
January 16, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Would it be totally wrong to tell her that you are trying to set a good example for your son regarding not talking to strangers and so you may not speak to her?
Laurel
said,
January 16, 2008 at 8:01 pm
That sounds awful! I’m glad that my personality is not nearly as, um, magnetic as yours is.
Ron
said,
January 16, 2008 at 9:09 pm
That’s a no brainer. I know that the intention was good, but your were correct in letting your “Mom-dar” come out. I’d move away quick and act like you were trying to let your son sleep wo you needed quiet.
SJ
said,
January 16, 2008 at 9:55 pm
I guess there is a possibility that this lady was just super-dooper nice (in a creepy, way over the top sort of way). I mean there are some people in the world that are just plain nice. Although I typically freak out when I come across them too - it’s so random these days….Maybe she just noticed that you were traveling alone with a child and just assumed you needed help?
I don’t know what I would have done. I guess for me it would all depend on whether or not this person tried to like touch me (not in that kind of way!) and like tried to take over with my child.
She didn’t, did she?
jamie
said,
January 17, 2008 at 12:20 am
holy cow, that is freaky. i think i would have gone so far as to get a different flight home…
southwest has great customer service and there is nothing wrong with flying on the cheap!
Erin
said,
January 17, 2008 at 12:36 am
Creepy. Just…creepy!
HollowSquirrel
said,
January 17, 2008 at 1:56 am
dude she did NOT score you a frigging cart.
BAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Heidi
said,
January 17, 2008 at 2:53 am
Wow, that’s a little creepy. Even creepier than the lady on her way home from a wine convention that I sat next to last spring. She talked my ear off about everything I could possibly want to know about preventing stretch marks (I was pregnant at the time). I had never used an iPod before, but Husband talked me into wearing his just to give my ears a break from her. So she gushed over the little kid across the aisle. Nice and all, but over-the-top friendly. Thankfully we met on the way home…
Suzanne
said,
January 17, 2008 at 4:36 am
yeah, that’s not normal!
May
said,
January 17, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Aw, the joys of being a freak magnet. I can totally sympathize. Sometimes riding on planes can be as scary as taking your 2 year old on the downtown bus (and the only place to sit is the back, and “back of the bus” characters + two year old = social experiment gone wrong).
Marriage-101
said,
January 18, 2008 at 3:30 am
Wow, I’m surpised everyone is so offended over her behavior…personally, I think she sounds nice. A little over the top, yeah, but she was trying to be thoughtful and I’m sure you made her day humoring her with conversation. I’d rather deal with someone like that than someone who acts like I’m not even there and does stuff like, talk loudly on their cell phone in the elevator, or bump into me with all their baggage in the Starbucks line making me spill my coffee.