Friday, January 13, 2012

I Know This Is Crabby - You Probably Have Better Things To Do Than Read It - But "Norm Violators" Drive Me Nuts

I'm in Tulsa for today, and flying to Hawaii tomorrow to meet my husband. I spent just enough time in France to release my inner French girl - at a 50% rate, that is. Here's what I mean. My level of disdain for those who weren't obeying even the simplest of social rules on my trip back was at an all time high. Michael Cunningham from some University (I think in Kentucky or Tennessee) dubbed these people "Norm Violators" or some such term. (OK, maybe I'm too jet-lagged to write this, but I find writing in this blog removes a lot of excess thought from my brain, allowing it to function better - which when I was younger, wasn't that big a change, but is now.) So, here are just two, but I think you'll agree, they are awful.
The first happened when we got on the plan. We were in the row with two seats, one window and one aisle. There was a lone 5 year old boy in my daughter's window seat. She actually had to tell him that he was in her seat and please move. His mother was in the seat in back of him. His mother had to tell him to move out of Amanda's seat and he finally did. But, get this, his mother (an attractive Argentian married to a lawyer in Pasadena) (this comes up later, maybe not today, though), had allowed him to pick his seat, including in his choice, seats that were not even on their tickets. He chose to sit in Amanda's seat and his mother let him. Do you wonder why children seem so much more annoying these days? When he moved, he sat in back of Amanda and proceeded to kick the back of her seat. I will give the mother credit, she told him to stop - well, actually she gave him a series of reasons why stopping was the right thing to do. I decided the right thing to do was to switch seats with them, so we were in back of them. An 11 hour flight is already too long without an unhappy child behind you. For some bizar reason, this family had the two seats in front of ours and the two seats behind ours. I'm sure when they chose this odd sitting arrangement, it was made clear that someone (us) was going to be sitting in the seats between, or they would have been assigned them. If they had just waited until we were on the plane and asked us, we would have happily switched, and their child would have had a good lesson in social practice. But they chose rude behavior.
Then there was the guy who came up to the side of me and pretended he was already in the customs line with me - and it was a long line - longer than any line I have ever been in, and that includes Space Mountain and Raiders at Disneyland. We weren't even that close to the front, but almost at the point where all the ropes are set up and line jumpers can't blend in so easily. So I turned to him and asked, "Are you looking for the end of the line?" He whispered "No." So I announced "Well, you're not with me" just loudly enough that he drops back a few families, but stays in the line. He just wasn't going to wait. Don't know how many other people were doing this, but Amanda actually had to run through the airport to get on her next plane.
Happy Friday The 13th!

8 comments:

  1. hee HEE! Your exchange with the line-cutter is classic! I want to be you. :)

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  2. Line jumpers irritate the daylights out of me, particularly in road construction. Rant away and have a lovely time in Hawaii, you jet-setter you.

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  3. Thanks Anne! When I'm not tired and crabby I have just turned to the other people in the line and said, "Is he with you?" Then if the answer is a negative, I can say that this person is not with me and the whole line polices him. (And if I'm wrong about it, I haven't made too big a fuss.)
    Hi Terri! In Washington State it is against the law to do it in traffic and the fine is huge. And in a construction zone, the fines are multiplied. I think I'm all done ranting and just plan on a nice calm time in the Islands.

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  4. Against the law in Washington? I've never heard of that! Good one... I was wondering whether the Argentinian folks had booked their seats on-line and if they intended to separate the children (one with each parent). Perhaps the Mom allowed the boy to choose his seat so she'd have a few more minutes without him, as if she'd ever flown anywhere she'd know that seats are assigned...except for the free-for-all that happens when there are loads of empty seats on a long haul. I've seen rows of folks lying down across several seats to sleep. I wish I could sleep better on those flights. Enjoy Hawaii! I've never been.

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  5. Hi Shelley - For anyone over 50 raised in Southern California, going to Hawaii is just like going back to your childhood. (I guess that's why so many people ended up in LA.) Some of the Islands have a little more vegetation, but most of the plants are the same. Probably because of the consistently mild weather, Which, after just having spent my first year living in Oklahoma, I now think is pretty boring. Don't you miss the THUNDER Storms? (Not the Tornados, though!)

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  6. Yes, I do miss thunder! People think I'm nuts to go for a run in the rain (it is a bit chilly), but I tell them it reminds me of playing in the rain as a child. I lived in Salt Lake City for 4 years and though the weather was lovely, it was dead boring. No clouds! No dramatic sunsets! Oklahoma has much more to offer - glad you can appreciate some fo the more ...interesting aspects! But no, tornadoes (earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis) we could all do without.

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  7. I think going for a run in the rain can be nice - no chance of sunburn, and as long as you wear the proper clothes, it's not too hot or cold. Having spent those decades in Seattle, I have the proper rain clothes and use them for Disneyland, when the rain insures sparse crowds and short lines.

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