A plea to Southwest Airlines
For me, the best feature of a long plane ride is having the chance to read. I jam my carry-on with books and magazines (I'm a pre-Kindle-ite, remember) and prepare for several hours of peace and quiet. (I did the same thing two weeks ago, riding one on the super-cheap buses to New York. Heading north, I finished Anne Tyler's new novel, "Noah's Compass"; on the way home, I read most of Paul Auster's "Invisible.")
But last weekend, as I headed to Denver (ready to wrap up "Invisible" and start "Annie's Ghosts" by Baltimore's Steve Luxenberg), I was struck with panic as I moved through the Southwest plane's cabin. Few aisle seats were available, and the only ones open were next to parents with infants and toddlers. (I'm quite fond of little kids, but I wouldn't want to be surrounded by them at a library.) I walked farther back, among kids who were already starting to wail, and found a seemingly safe aisle seat next to two adults. But just as I settled in, I noticed a small child kneeling on the ground next to the window seat. I scrambled to change, but by then, savvier passengers had rushed past.
The little guy (he never gave me his name) was pretty good for a non-napping, 14-month-old -- if you overlook the can of ginger ale he tipped onto my lap, and the toys flung my way. I'll even give him credit for occasionally distracting the little girl in front of home, who spent most of the time shrieking. But as for reading, I was lucky to finish a few dozen pages.
Would it be so hard for Southwest and other airlines to set up a kids-free zone for readers? I'm not even asking for a glass of Sambuca, though that wouldn't hurt.






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