The irony of this statement was not lost on me – even if the person speaking the line was ignorant of it themselves.
For example, I was aware that the speaker was, in fact, speaking perfectly good (if somewhat accented – though I am sure that he would have debated the point) English. I was also fairly certain that they were speaking their native tongue, though I could not place exactly where in England he was from.
He repeated his question: "Are you queuing for this flight?" The guy turned to his travelling companion and said something that I didn't catch, apparently ignoring the question that they had early blown off with the rude retort "Huh? Speak English!"
I caught the guy's attention and gestured toward the line I was headed for the end of. It is hard enough for those of us who travel all the time in this country to spot where the gathering mass is that is actively attempting to show their tickets and board the flight. This must absolutely drive the British mad!
They queue for everything in England. How can you tell dead Englishmen? They're the ones who don't need to be told to queue in a quiet, orderly fashion and wait for St. Peter to greet them at the Pearly Gates!
I still cannot believe the guy and his travelling companion couldn't have figured-out the question – or were just that unwilling to help.
But oh well, we can't all have been taught manners by our parents, I guess!
Wherever you are today, I hope that you will be considerate and helpful to someone!
Don Bergquist – May 25, 2011 – Frontier Airlines, Flight 110, Somewhere Over Eastern Colorado, USA
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