Wednesday report

*******
God knows what time – Wednesday 28 March – LAX

I think it is somewhere between the hours of 12noon and 1pm. My flight is at 1 and my sense of time (dulled somewhat from ‘sleeping’ between two men for 13 hours) tells me that myself and my luggage left the baggage collection area around 10.30. So maybe, it is actually 11-ish. Have no idea and really can’t be arsked.

Good flight, which arrived early! Was fortunate enough to have exit row seat, and with congenial people, although one was a rather hefty fellow (kind of like a Chunky Soup commercial). My left upper arm kind of is tired from tensing to avoid contact; this was fruitless, did not work and only produced lactic acid in my arm. It is weird how we have our significant sense of space in the West and other cultures have so little; a man in line for Immigration kept standing right behind me, touching my purse and it really bothered me. So I turned sideways at the next shuffle forwards, and that worked. The poor man next to me on the plane (the one whose arm spent a large portion of the flight 1/3 of the way into my armrest barrier), had a fractured ankle and was flying from Melbourne to NYC today – with no bandage or anything. I think he missed his flight. Man on other side is a harp technician, so he had been in Australia repairing harps. He lives in Chicago and plays the guitar and the mandolin and his mother lives in Cloutierville (how bizarre)! He says I have lost a Louisiana accent.

There was a man on the flight who looked just like Kim Jong Il (kept hearing, ‘I’m rone-ry, oh, so rone-ry…’ in my head every time he went to the loo. Tee hee.) However, that particular family was the most standing-up-est group of people I have ever seen on a flight; they just would NOT sit down! Well, until a man from a row behind us clapped and yelled at them because they were just loitering with their screaming child for like 30 minutes. Admittedly the screaming was laughter, but this was still rude and unpleasant. They yelled back that she was only a child and he yelled the observant retort that this was not a kindergarten. I smirked quietly and gave a silent ‘Bravo!’

United Airlines claims on their napkins that they have the most legroom of any US airline. However, I think American also claims this and I believe American, since I have sat in American Economy several times. Admittedly, this trip, was seated in exit row, so had loads of legroom (except when Asian-origin kindergarten was in session), but the other people looked very cramped legwise.

As well, I am not too fond of flying on 747s – they do not have the nifty little screens with entertainment on the backs of seats in front and sound system leaves much to be desired.