The High Road

Happy 2017, Dear Readers.  I hope this year will be wonderful for all.

This post was supposed to be about my New Year’s resolution.  I had resolved, that in 2017, I was going to be a kinder, gentler version of the old Ellen.

You know.  More patient, less judgmental, more tolerant of people who’s views I consider ill-informed or downright asinine.

A beta version of the 2016 ER.

I had pictured how the new me would be- all sweetness and light, bringing joy, forbearance, peace and good will towards my fellow man.

But before I had a chance to unleash the new Ellen…

…I flew home from Boston.

I had gone there to spend the holidays with my daughter Natasha, her husband Zach and my grandkids- Sam and Carly.

The visit was swell and the time flew by.

Here I am playing one on one with Sam.

(Photo by Zach Tofias)

And here I am gift-wrapping Carly to bring her home with me.

(Photo by Zach Tofias)

And then it was time for Gran (that’s me) to fly bye bye.

On the flight back I was seated in my fave window seat.  There was no one in the middle.  A fifty-something man sat in the aisle seat.  His wife was seated across from him in the other aisle seat.

Got it?

As soon as the seat belt light was turned off after takeoff, I got up, excused myself, inched past the guy and headed for the bathroom.

Easy, right?

Except the guy was pissed.

I didn’t get it.   I hadn’t disturbed him.  We had just taken off.  He wasn’t sleeping or anything.

But there it was.  He was annoyed.

And I had to annoy him all over again when I brushed past him and resumed my seat.

He gave me a dirty look and that was it.  He read on his phone or talked to his wife the whole flight.

At NO time did he make eye contact with me.

When the flight landed, he got up to wait for his turn to de-plane.

He stood in the aisle, chatting with his wife with his back to the exiting passengers. Occasionally he would turn around to see if anyone was getting off.

I had stood up, as well.

But I was trapped underneath the overhead baggage compartment and it was getting kind of cramped under there.

I kept trying to catch his eye so he would move up- or back- in the aisle so I could come out from underneath.

He wouldn’t make eye contact.

He deliberately stood exactly where he was, smiling a little smile, and kept me trapped in place.

And I swear, he was enjoying it.

I crouched below the overhead bin for what seemed like hours.

The flight had been full and it was really taking a long time for everyone to de-plane.

And the whole time I was stuck, this guy was amused.

I could not catch his eye and I didn’t want to interrupt his conversation with his wife to ask him to move.

Finally, the line started to move and they moved with it.

At long last, I could get out from under.

And, breathing a big sigh of relief, I finally got off the plane.

Oh, did I happen to mention that when I was hunched under the bin I happened to notice that he had left a small leather portfolio on the seat between us?  It looked as if it held accessories for his electronics or an iPad or something.

No?

Gee, that’s a shame.

I didn’t mention it to him, either.

Dear Lord, hear my prayer.

Please help make me good and kind.

But not yet.

Have a cool 2017, everyone.

 

Now here’s a New Year’s Eve clip to ring in the new year.