Coming home late on the Southwest flight, which was 95% booked, I found a window seat in the back of the plane with the middle seat vacant.  People kept walking by the middle seat, passing it up, and the lady sitting on the aisle and I kept exchanging wishful glances.

Flight attendant asks over the intercom “is there a single person who is willing to change seats so a family can sit together?” I thought about my daughter and I travelling and how hard that would be to not sit together, so I volunteered to move.  The mother and daughter were so appreciative.

The flight attendant quickly found me an aisle seat, a few rows back.  I organized my stuff, got my neck pillow ready and assumed the position for a relaxing flight.

Not sure what I was thinking….

Within just a few minutes of the captain turning off the seat belt sign, the boy (approximately 12 years old) sitting directly behind me, got up from his seat, knocked into my seat not just once, but three times.  He then proceeded to drop his phone on my arm, knock into me again while retrieving his phone, all without one apology or “excuse me” being uttered.  I let this go and continued reading my magazine, while the drinks were being taken and snacks were being handed out.  Apparently the tray table was not large enough or sturdy enough for the boy behind me, because he continually was moving it up and down, trying to pull it out (maybe he thought it increased size when pulled out) and then finally banging on it, when he realized it did not increase size.  I let this go for awhile, but my exhaustion had gotten the best of me, and by the 3rd time of him banging and pulling on the tray table, I abruptly turned around and asked him to kindly stop!  At this point, he did apologize.

After quite awhile, the boy finally seemed to quiet down and relax, but for some reason thought he felt it was acceptable to take his shoes and socks off and stretch his foot out in the aisle almost touching my leg.  Thankfully the flight attendants did tell him he could not stretch his foot in the aisle (this reminder had to be told to this boy though, each time the flight attendants were passing by him), so he did pull his foot back. This then led to him trying to stretch out with his knees pressed firmly through the seat into my lower back.  Instead of asking him to politely sit up some, I took the mature route, and pounded my fists into the back of my seat into his knees, where after quite some time and harder pounding, the boy finally got the message and sat up some, so that his knees were no longer in my back.

This uncomfortable flight did not change my belief in doing good things for people, but it changed my outlook on where to sit on a Southwest flight.  I usually look at who is sitting in the same row (do they look clean, are there little kids etc.), now I will be looking to see who is sitting directly behind me.  Ha Ha!