Heat Makes Me (and Others) Wackos

We two were on a flight a few weeks ago, bound for parts east.  The UK, to be precise.  Now, both of us are well-traveled, have flown a fair amount, and know our way around airports and airplanes.  In fact, decades ago, in my newlywed and early motherhood years, I was an international flight attendant, based at JFK in New York. 

I rarely make negative observations about flights.  They are what they are.  Take 'em or leave 'em.  I prefer to enjoy the miracle of flight. 

This particular trip, however, started out on the negative side of my comfort zone, before they had even closed the aircraft doors.  Boy: it was hot.  Really hot.  No movement of air, even at push back.  Even as we sat in place on the tarmac, seventh in line for take-off, for way too many minutes.  All of the passengers in our section could be seen pulling the safety card found in the seat backs in front of them and fanning themselves maniacally with them.  I mentioned to the flight attendant sitting across from us in his jump seat that the safety cards had never seen so much activity in their existence.  He laughed as he wiped the sweat off his face.  (This was after I rang my call button while sitting on the tarmac, and when he appeared at my seat, I asked him, maybe with a scowl, I don't know, "What is the cockpit saying about this heat?!"  I had sweat trickling all over the place.  This flight attendant said that the cabin would begin cooling off as soon as we started the take-off roll... blah, blah, blah, and I cut him off and said, "No.  This is not normal.  The air should be moving by now. "  And he sort of nodded and walked away from me. )

Finally we were airborn and slowly the cabin cooled.  S.L.O.W.L.Y

But then, before we were at our cruising altitude of 38,000', a man from the section in front of us bolted into one of the lavs near our seats.  He SLAMMED the door shut.  Ew, I thought.  But then, 30 seconds or so later, he SLAMMED the door opened and stomped out.  He came over to the jump seat in front of our seats.  He kept twisting, first facing us, and then turning around so we could not see his face.  He tried to wedge his tall, thin body between the jump seat and the emergency exit slide.

This was a little unsettling.

My mind went to  "He should not be trying to sit in the jump seat." to "Omigoodness, why is he wedging himself by the emergency exit door/slide?!"  I weighed whether or not to call the flight attendant (probably the same one who answered my call button heat rant before takeoff...). 

Just as suddenly as he had bolted into the lav, and as suddenly bolted out of the lav, this man bolted for parts aft in the aircraft.  When he was gone, I turned to that Spouse o' Mine and asked if he thought that passenger was having problems.  He replied that yes, there was something wrong, indeed.  The two of us discussed what action we would have taken if needs be.  Seriously?  What actions?  We're retired senior citizens.  Too old to be taking down a young(er) crazed tall guy regardless of what we have read in the news about passengers having problems inflight.

About an hour later, another passenger came and stood in front of our seats (Bulkhead seats: Yes!  Yes!  Please assume that we welcome your standing directly in front of our kneecaps while you do your TransAtlantic yoga, stand in line for the lavs, search out your partner after a lover's quarrel...)

As it turns out, the latter was exactly what had transpired.  A spat, a squabble, an argument, a break-up?  We'll never know.  But the new guy standing in front of our kneecaps was looking for the first guy.

We saw them, some five hours later as we went through UK Customs.  Neither looked at all happy.  And I am sorry for that.  But I wish that they could have contained whatever it was to their own two seats, and not have caused concern to some of their fellow passengers.

Follow a negative (OK: two negatives...) with a positive (or two):
I had a delectable inflight Asian Vegetarian Special Dinner. 
Man, oh man, getting through UK Customs and to the Heathrow Express (train) was so ding-dong easy. 

More-to-come.