MY KID ON A PLANE STORY!

Not the Actual Airline...

Not the Actual Kiddo from Story Below Either...
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On a flight to Atlanta, I was seated one row behind the First Class section next to an absolutely exhausted young mother with a screaming 3 year-old son. He was seated next to the window. I always take the aisle seat. It was obviously a bad day for Mother and Son. The screaming and crying lasted 47 minutes and throughout it all, the Mother kept spanking the child on his butt thinking this would stop the crying fit. The spanking had no effect. Eventually, the boy chilled out and his Mom fell asleep. It was obvious to me she had suffered a tough day even without the commotion. She was beyond exhaustion and I felt badly for both of them. 'Okay, at least she is asleep', I thought.

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As a diversion and to keep the airplane cabin peaceful, I made funny faces with the kid. He was amused. This lasted for about 8 minutes. Next, he quietly showed me his crayon artwork, handed me a crayon and we both took turns coloring. I showed him my art creation, and then it was his turn to color a picture to show me. This was working out pretty well. Sensing the passengers behind me (who were about to commit "Mutiny on the Bounty") easing into the flight, I continued to keep the child occupied. While I was coloring during my turn, he made his move. Suddenly, I noticed him standing and facing his seat. This was not good. Ever so skillfully, he reached into his mother's purse and removed one of those orange drinks sealed in a plastic bag that you poke open with a straw shaped like a spear. He looked at me. I raised one eyebrow and shook my head "No". This next scene was remarkable. Without ever breaking eye contact with me, he used his teeth to tear open a corner of the orange drink bag, held it over his open seat and continued to stare at me. Sensing a disaster about to happen, I used both hands to wave him off shaking my head as if to say "NO, NOT THAT!" so as not to wake his Mother and cause a riot. Yup, he emptied the entire contents of the orange drink onto his cloth seat cushion (still without breaking eye contact with me--amazing). I must have looked horrified because he started giggling at me. This was now a matter of "Crisis Management". I flagged down a flight attendant who was cool, calm and corrected--as they say (of course we all know who 'They' are). She said, "No problem, it's Velcro'd in. I'll just swap it out," and she changed the seat cushion swiftly. We placed the boy back into his seat with the safety belt re-secured. I even made sure we ditched the evidence (the empty packet of the orange drink). We landed half an hour later and the Mother (still asleep) never knew what happened. Upon waking up, she turned to me. "I'm so sorry for the commotion", she said. "Oh, no worries. He has a sense of humor", I replied smiling. Al's well, ends well!

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Thanksgiving: For a sense of Humor!