So much for common courtsey

I was traveling from Redding to Phoenix today to continue to last parts of training at Mesa. I had to sit in the flight deck from SFO to PHX because the back of the plane was packed. Because of the packed plane, a mother and her 3 year old were given two different middle seats. Usually that is no big deal, as MOST people are kind enough to move seats to keep a mother and child together. Not to mention you do not really want to get stuck minding a child that is not your own for a whole flight. However, the flight attendant did not realize that the man she asked to move from his aisle seat to a middle seat was apparently the King of Zimbabwe.

This oh so lovely excuse for a human had not only the nastiness to say no, but the audacity to make a scene say that he paid for his seat and how dare the flight attendant dare ask him to move. Now, the story ends fairly simple, as a couple sitting in front of the man told the flight attendant they would split up and take the two middle seats so the mother and child could have seats together. However, the "King of the plane" did not let it end there. He had to come up to the flight deck (the door was still open as we were on the ground) and complained to the Captain that the flight attendant was rude and that she should be taken off the flight. The Captain listened to the man for a moment and then decided that he would not be able to travel with them today.

I don't usually think that evil people need to have their just desserts, but I tell you, the passengers in the plane clapped as a ground supervisor along with two of SFO's finest came on the plane and escorted him off. I guess I don't know why people are the way they are sometimes. I mean, if the guy had to have an aisle seat, for whatever reason, he still could have expressed that politely. I don't know what happened to the guy after he was taken off the plane. If he acted off the plane the same way he did on the plane, I am sure the airline refunded his ticket and then he would really be SOL.

I know that quite a few people thought he got what he deserved. The day of holding the door and helping people out seems to have vanished. Many blame my generation, yet, I see more people my parent's age be aggressive, rude, and overbearing. For those who have not seen the movie "Pay It Forward" you should rent it. It is worth the time and it is a good family movie. It is also a good premise for how we should live our lives. Now, I am no where even close to perfect, but I at least know how to hold the door for people, or do little courteous things for people. So to everyone who has problems with this, pull your head out of the sand and BE NICE. You never know when you will need a helping hand.