Bless you!

So yesterday I spent a good portion of the day in an airport/on an airplane - first in Tahoe to fly to Dallas, then in Dallas to fly to Austin. It's crazy how even flights that are on time end up consuming an entire day. I guess losing 2 hours coming back east didn't help that either.

I'm sure I'm not alone here when I say that, when looking for a place to sit at the gate, I try to find a seat away from everybody else. Typically the scene you walk up to (if you're obsessively punctual like I am) is a row of seats connected together with one person in each row. If, God forbid, someone has to sit in a row facing another, that someone will sit on the end furthest away from the person they're facing. Once all the "four corners," so to speak, are filled up, people start sitting at least 2 seats away from each other until it's so full that you either (choke!) sit right next to another person, or you stand. Or, if you're my sister, you can take measures to prevent this from happening by setting your carry-on bag on the seat next to you. Problem solved.

I mean really, how intruded-upon would you feel if someone sat down in the seat right next to you if there were seats available farther away? I already feel like someone's getting a little too cozy when he/she sits next to me (you know, in his/her assigned seat) on the airplane. If the seat next to you happens to be empty for the flight it always feels like an unexpected little victory. Whip up that armrest baby! Cuz I'm gonna put my feet on this chair ALL. FLIGHT. LONG!

Anyway, with the great lengths we all go to to keep to ourselves and give each other enough space, you can imagine my surprise when, after sneezing mid-way through my Austin flight, three different people in different rows turned to say "bless you."

And really, the most surprising part is that it isn't that surprising at all. Isn't silence awkward after a sneeze? Last time I flew to Colorado most people walked right on by the old lady that fell at the end of the escalator, but dammit, we will all be blessed after we sneeze.