No Coaches in Coach

Even though this has happened to me quite a bit, I will post it now since it just happened again recently.

Airplane Etiquette. What is it? Sometimes I feel like I'm finally able to understand the best way to act on the plane in order to either have amusing, but comfortably limited small talk or to be left alone with my guilty pleasure Cosmo mag or Sudoku. But no, every now and then, I get into the conversation that does not know when to end, and my neck pays the price. It's never with someone my own age, either. It's always someone who is over the age of 65.

I have to confess it's not all bad. I've heard amazing life stories. One woman even gave me a hand-sewn snowman filled with MnMs that she had intended to give to a friend's daughter...(maybe that should be a later post?)

This last experience was also mostly pleasant and filled with many great words of wisdom from a very nice old man, but any time the conversation seemed to die down, I was so unsure whether I was supposed to keep it going, I'd try to think of something else to add. Every other time I did this though, I quickly realized he'd wanted the conversation to die. (Notice I still did this multiple times, though! Oops!) I think he might have experienced the same phenomenon at least a couple times as well.

Finally, he saved us both by saying he wanted to continue reading his book. My neck thanked me as I turned back to my article on the Stud of the Month or whatnot, but not more than 10 minutes later, he started talking again! This time I was only saved by the plane landing 20 minutes later.

In the future, I may try saying I need a nap, or that I need to finish my Sudoku puzzle before landing, but part of me is always tempted to keep talking until the other person says something along those lines first, especially if the other person is older. I tell myself that training myself to listen is part of my future career, so I might as well get all the practice I can get.