7. Never Assume Anything
I used to travel frequently, so I regularly received upgrades using miles to business class, first class, or just better seats. I arrived and boarded the plane after most of the passengers because the flight was a connection for me.
Since I had been upgraded, I noticed someone sitting in my seat as soon as I entered the aircraft. Having someone on your seat is not uncommon if you regularly fly.
However, this particular encounter will remain in my memory forever. I apologized as I told the person they were in my seat. “Let’s just swap seats so I can sit next to my wife,” the man in my seat says dismissively, without even looking up.
Let’s exchange seats so I can sit next to my wife, the man in my seat says without even bothering to look up at me. He dismissively flicks his hand in my direction. I ask him what his seat is. He says a number while chuckling.
He stated a specific seat number, but I can’t recall it. It was in the last row of the aircraft, though—an aisle seat just outside the restroom. I have, in the past, had to sit in those chairs. Remember that I was given a seat in the first-class/business-class area.
I’ve traded seats with people countless times in my life without giving it a second thought, including first-class seats. However, the expression on someone’s face when they unexpectedly ride in first class is priceless.
This was not one of those occasions, given how this guy acted and what he was expecting. So I say, “No. I’ll just take a seat at the place I was given.”
As it was her sister’s property, she claimed, it was now hers, and she was the rightful owner. She’s had three husbands and no consistent employment since I’ve known her.
Until she divorced them, she squeezed as much as she could from each one. I walked for about 10 minutes the following morning to get to school, and as I was leaving, I noticed her car and a moving van parked outside. She claimed she was moving into “her” house, but that’s not the worst part.
Then, in a sickly-sweet voice, she offered to let me stay there until I finished high school in exchange for a “fair” rent. When I went inside and called my brother, he again came with the family lawyer, police, and all the necessary documentation and got her evicted.
I missed what happened since I was at school. That evening, Mark handed me a business card (for a policeman, who I guess helped with all of this) and told me to phone that number right away if I ever saw aunt Karen on the property or close by.
I am aware that the movers charged her to load her belongings into the van, go across town, be turned away, and then return to her apartment, for which she had not yet given notice.
I used to bring our dog out in the yard to let her play in the fenced backyard while I was at school, but I became so afraid that I didn’t like letting her out there. I started to lock her in the garage and clean up after her messes when I got home in the evening.
Karen later moved to Colorado, where she eventually fell in love with and married the man who called to inform me that she had passed away and that he could not find any family members to attend the funeral.
I decided not to tell him about her and kindly apologized for my unavailability to attend. He said Mark the same thing. I don’t think she has any living relatives but me, Mark, and Mark’s little kid. Mark gave me his half of the house as part of the agreement where I sold him my share of the business, but I continued to sleep in my bedroom.
Even though I am 20 years old, own a big home, and have a lot of money in the bank, I still miss my parents and think about them often. I would do anything to have my parents back, even though I have all these luxuries.
I used to travel frequently, so I regularly received upgrades using miles to business class, first class, or just better seats. I arrived and boarded the plane after most of the passengers because the flight was a connection for me. Since I had been upgraded, I noticed someone sitting in my seat as soon as I entered the aircraft.
Having someone on your seat is not uncommon if you regularly fly. However, this particular encounter will remain in my memory forever. I apologized as I told the person they were in my seat. “Let’s just swap seats so I can sit next to my wife,” the man in my seat says dismissively, without even looking up.
Let’s exchange seats so I can sit next to my wife, the man in my seat says without even bothering to look up at me. He dismissively flicks his hand in my direction. I ask him what his seat is. He says a number while chuckling.
He stated a specific seat number, but I can’t recall it. It was in the last row of the aircraft, though—an aisle seat just outside the restroom. I have, in the past, had to sit in those chairs. Remember that I was given a seat in the first-class/business-class area.
I’ve traded seats with people countless times in my life without giving it a second thought, including first-class seats. However, the expression on someone’s face when they unexpectedly ride in first class is priceless.
This was not one of those occasions, given how this guy acted and what he was expecting. So I say, “No. I’ll just take a seat at the place I was given.”
He now finally turned to face me. ” Well, I want to sit with my wife, so I’m not moving,” he replies. ” Well, I’m sure whoever is seated way back there would be more than delighted to trade seats way up here so you can sit back there with your wife, “
I respond. He didn’t like that at all because there wasn’t much he could say at that point without sounding arrogant. I grew irritated as he just stared at me, and I said, “Move.” “I am not moving,” he declares. I pressed the call button. “Yes sir, how may I help?” asks the flight attendant as she approaches.
I give her my ticket and inform her that he is taking my seat. She requests his ticket, looks at both tickets, notices his seat number, and gives him a look. “Sir, you need to sit in your allotted seat,” she says. ” I want to sit next to my wife,” he responds. I didn’t miss a beat.
I repeated that I was certain that whoever was seated next to him in that row would be more than pleased to move over and take a seat up here. Boy, oh boy, that clearly angered him. “Ma’am, would you like to move seats so that you can sit by your husband,” the flight attendant asks the man’s wife.
His wife refused. “Well, sir, you have to sit in your assigned place, so kindly collect your belongings,” the flight attendant says in the familiar voice that makes it clear you have no option. It was a sad and pitiful sight to see this grown man behave like a baby, grab his belongings, and then sulk to the back of the plane.
His wife did not go with him to the back of the aircraft; she instead sat next to me. No. I was delighted with the fact that we didn’t exchange words or even a single glance. Imagine condescendingly assuming someone will give up their first- or business-class seat to take a seat in the very last row of the aircraft near the restroom.
Unsplash / Bambi Corro
