Would you share your bagel?
Recently I was on a flight to CA. It’s a 5.5 hour flight and the only thing you get from the airline for sustenance is a shot glass of Coke, and two wafers made of paper mache. Knowing this, I planned ahead and purchased a bag of granola and a bagel with cream cheese.
I took my seat 19B. You know what that means, right; I’m in the middle. Being in the middle on a 5.5 hour flight makes me kick myself for not having La Don package me up in a dishwasher box and shipping me UPS. I would have been more comfortable packed in foam peanuts and liquored up on Benadryl to sleep all the way there, than being crammed between two Ravens-size linebackers for 330 minutes.
Needless to say, while I smile politely at my fellow airborne sardines, while perpetually rubbing against each of their arms, it’s clear that it’s every man for himself. Then while passing Amarillo on the left and Oklahoma City on the right, I extract the bagel and cream cheese from the bag under the seat in front of me, using the typical airplane contortionist training I’ve learned over the years.
Here is where the tension starts. I realize that my row mates did not plan for the mid-flight hunger. They actually looked pitiful. However, unfazed I contorted my body in a protective shell over the seat tray table in front of me and proceeded to savor the meal. Surprisingly was the inordinate amount of guilt I felt for not sharing. When I finished I think I caught sight of a tear in the eye of 19A.
The next two hours were tense. I simply didn’t feel right. I imagined myself in a German concentration camp. Would I be the guy who hoards secret food? If stranded in the wilderness, would I be the one plotting to “off” the plumpest among the group to ensure my own survival. Would I vote to throw the old and sick overboard if in a lifeboat at sea? It’s in moments like these that I am always surprised how easily I am ambushed by ugly selfishness. How about you?
On the return flight I bought three bagels.
Gum is always my 1st course!
I chew gum to help my ears when flying. I offer gum to those around me. Then, later I go for my snack. I tell myself, the other people already ate, before they boarded the plane. If, we were in survival mode, I would share. This is food for thought....
Felt that weird guilt about
Felt that weird guilt about eating in front of others.If the kids were around though, it is a guarantee that I'd have enough snacks to feed them and hundred people around us and have often shared that bounty with kids of less plan-for-any-contingency parents.(along with band-aids,sunscreen,ointments,drinks,clothing...) On a recent vacation with my sister and her friends I whipped out numbing medicine for a toothache that had arisen. Crisis and pain averted. LOL Maybe that's a mom thing? I wonder more about how I would be in those situations you mentioned if my family were around. I might not hoard for myself, but I wonder what I'd do to ensure the survival of them. I wonder if I'd fully trust in God in those situations or try to take control myself. Since I already have a tendency to do the latter with just every day life situations I have no doubt that the struggle would be immense.
And unfortunately it's in
And unfortunately it's in moments like those where my pride also finds its way to the surface and then turns into selfishness. I take pride in knowing that I packed and planned for just such a moment and then selfish and not wanting to share my knowledge for their lack of. Its a good reminder that "sharing is caring." And the joy of giving is better than the pride of knowledge.
The saddest part of all is
The saddest part of all is that the airlines have forced people into these type of positions...and you are paying them to do it....I think we all long for the day when we were treated royally for choosing to fly with a particular airline...when you had your choice between chicken or beef...the meal came with bread & butter, and a knife to spread it. So what if we had to switch to plastic..aren't we still deserving of a good meal on a cross country flight?
Now the airlines act as if we are lucky to be flying with them...on my most recent flight the pilot made a comment on the intercom thanking us for paying his salary and his mortgage...pretty pitiful actually.
On a lighter note...one bagel split between three people may not sound like much, and they probably would have refused it anyway...but hmmm...would I have asked? I really don't know...
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