The Test of Kindness
You all know the drill—you get on the airplane with a bunch of other people all trying to find a spot for their luggage. Many people have bags that are crammed too full and have way more “stuff” than they are permitted to carry on. The first people on the plane get the prime spaces for their carry-on bags while the ones in the later boarding groups are left to scramble to locate a spot for their luggage. Seated with my luggage stowed under the seat in front of me, I observed a woman with a large suitcase looking for overhead space to put her bag. She found a spot that was plenty big enough except that is had a small bag in it. She was attempting to move the smaller bag into a space that would accommodate it when the man seated in the row behind me bellowed, “That is not your bag to move.” The passenger was bewildered by the gruff, unkind comment until other passengers jumped in to help her find a place to stow her bag. What difference would it have made if the bag had ...