How Big is Your....

...personal space???? My personal space was tested on my flight home a few days ago....

As I boarded my plane with the rest of the cattle in the economy class, I made my way down the aisle to 21 C. I had an AISLE seat! I hoped the two middle seats would remain empty, but when the attendant announced the "very full flight", I knew I would be sharing my row. I shoved my laptop and purse beneath the seat in front of me and patiently waited to put on my seat belt.

"Excuse me, I will be sitting next to you." I glanced up and saw a very large man. He was covered from neck to arms in tattoo and had piercings in his ears where I wasn't sure holes should be! I quickly hopped out of my seat to give him way. I sat back down, and he stood back up reaching around me to the overhead bin.... well, I now had an excellent view of the tattoo art on his backside... or shall we say plumber's behind?? I have nothing against tattoos, piercings, etc. In fact, there have been many-a-time when I have considered a small secret tattoo of my own, but I did know that being this close to this man was definitely making me uncomfortable, not for who he was, but because of my personal space.

I decided to make the most of my new neighbor. As dinner was served, I asked him what he had been doing in Tokyo. To my surprise, he was a tattoo artist. We had a lovely chat about his studio in San Francisco and his new studio in Tokyo. He told me that he was learning the traditional Japanese method from the best tattoo artist in the world who happened to be in Japan tattooing for the Yakuza. We discussed the stigmas against tattoos in Japan. And he even felt close enough to me to tell me about how the first time a Japanese woman saw him naked, she felt he looked clothed with all of the tattoos.... (Whether it was a closeness in proximity, or my constant ability to have people tell me their life stories, I don't know) We chatted over our gourmet airplane food, and I quickly finished off my second 5 dollar bottle of mini red wine. I was quite please that I had the chance to talk to this guy. We were seemingly the most unlikely pair of neighbors to chat away. I knew the 8 and a half hour flight wouldn't seem as long as I though it would, and that the disturbance in my personal space was slowly dissipating. Maybe my personal space wasn't so small after all?

I slowly reclined my seat the maximum two degrees and tried to go to bed. My neighbor did too. He began to stretch and digest his dinner, burping (loudly) and grunting, and snorting through his nasal passages. Maybe he had a cold. Maybe he had acid indigestion issues. I don't know. But HOW can you do that in public when sitting SO CLOSE to someone who clearly cannot move?...very far? I knew my personal space was still as small as it had been before getting to know my new friend. So, I faced the precious free space of the aisle, turned my iPod up loudly, and prayed for sleep.... how I miss business class..... -M