Thursday, October 1, 2009

The Seatmate From Hell

chihuahua_sized I don’t like the whole story of the Terminal Man, but this post is great.

I’m nearly two weeks into my trip, and I’ve had the pleasure of sitting next to some interesting people. One was an engineer working on San Francisco’s new Bay Bridge. Another was a PR director for the United Football League. I’ve also been next to some more, uh, eccentric individuals who are interesting in a different way. They range from neurotic to inappropriate to downright bizarre.

I doubt few will compare to Shauna, who I met on yesterday’s Newark to Orlando flight. I had just moved to an aisle seat in her otherwise empty row so I could stretch out. As the flight attendants finished the safety briefing, Shauna (We’ve changed her name) leaned in and asked if I was allergic to dogs. I replied that I wasn’t, and she pulled a chihuahua from what I thought was a handbag. Its faux-diamond necklace, spelling out KIKI, told me that I had just made one of the worst seating decisions of my life.

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