JUST DON'T DO IT! Shut Up!
Some years ago during a 3 hour flight to fabulous Las Vegas, a woman and her husband sat next to me. This rude woman ran her motor mouth to me as soon as she boarded. I had never met this woman before in my life! Years later, I still wonder why she talked incessantly to me, instead of her husband! That is her husband's job to listen to her motor mouth!
Well, halfway through the flight, she got up to use the bathroom. Her husband then sat next to me. Ahhh... very pleasant. When the woman returned, she fidgeted in her aisle seat so much, her husband then changed seats and the bitch started running her mother mouth to me again about some nonsense bullshit!
I have experienced other situations, but not so extreme. I have encountered folks who start up their motor mouth during decent and run their mouth nonstop until landing 20 minutes later.
These have been such awful experiences that I decided I would never let that happen to me again! Some fellow travelers are too inconsiderate, disrespectful, self-centered, rude and TOO STUPID to shut up! They are so pathetically lonely that they feel that during the restricted plane ride, they have other folks' unconditional attention for a few hours. Well when it comes to me, that is a LIE!
Since that flight many years ago, I made it policy to NEVER SPEAK to fellow passengers. The most that I say is... "Is that seat taken?" My brother, Jon Williams, advised me to always take my iPod, so when the adjacent passenger starts yacking, just wave them off and put the earplugs in.
I just returned from a flight last week... 3 hours from Las Vegas. I actually started having a little sympathy for fellow passengers. Maybe I was being too cold, insensitive, unnecessarily stoic and too standoffish to fellow passengers. I was thinking, maybe I should lighten up. But yesterday, I read a former co-worker's Facebook update regarding the obnoxious passenger she experienced! It was awful!
So, I will maintain my long-standing policy. Do Not Allow Fellow Passengers to Say Anything to Me During Travel! My policy is the right thing to do! Conversations are 2-way exchanges. I do not give strangers the right to yack to me non-stop. If I do not engage, then shut up!!!!
Here is a 5-point breakdown of my air travel policy. I advise others to adapt/adopt it as well.
#1- Be prepared. Always have your earplugs / headset.
#2- Avoid eye contact or smiling with the adjacent passenger. If you have a long flight and give that signal to chat... you will NOT be able to stop the motor mouth once it stops.
#3- Do not hesitate to use the "hand-wave". The "hand-wave" is a nice and nasty, but polite gesture that means, SHUT UP!
#4- If you stay firm by not engaging and the chatter continues, you may have to ask... "Are you talking to me?" After that, do not answer! Just shrug your shoulder!
#5- DO NOT START SOMETHING THAT CANNOT BE STOPPED! Do not engage!!!!!
So what if you hurt their feelings! Big deal! They are strangers anyway! You probably will never meet them again.
Here are two possible outcomes, #1 you will have an annoying flight or #2 you will offend and hurt an intrusive stranger's feelings.
Remember, it is your choice, your decision. There are no in between options.
My advice: Enjoy Your Flight; Don't Be Polite!
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