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Lessons from LAX

On a flight that took me through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) en route to Canada, my fellow travelers and I were told to pick up our luggage and go through customs.

We made our way to the baggage-claim area and positioned ourselves around the luggage carousel, watching bag after bag tumble down the ramp. As the area filled up with travel-weary folks, people started peering over each others’ shoulders and jostling for position.

Granted, some of this is to be expected. After all, everyone there had just been on a long flight, and everyone was preoccupied with their own agenda.

As I stood there waiting and chatting with a new acquaintance, a late-comer arrived with two small children, a large, bulky backpack and a luggage rack in tow. He stood behind us, waiting to spot his bags, and every few minutes I heard him scold his son. “Stop running around and bumping into people!”

Within moments of saying this, he spotted his bags. Without a word, he pushed himself between my acquaintance and I, smashing his backpack into my arm as he reached for a bag. Turning, smashed into me again as he carried the bag to his cart.

Moments later he was back for the next bag, again pushing his way through without a word… until I heard him snap at the boy, “Stop it! You’re bumping into people left and right, and someone’s going to get hurt.”

Isn’t that the way it goes sometimes? We’re so concerned with the misdeeds of others that we develop a blind eye to our own ways. It’s not hypocrisy so much as a simple lack of awareness.

As I made my way to the next gate, rubbing my shoulder as I went, the wise words of Emily Post came to mind:

“Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.”

Do you have an etiquette lesson you’d like to share? Love t0 hear your story below!

image: Theerin

Posted by Margaret in Everyday Etiquette and tagged air travel etiquette, good manners, common courtesies, Gain Confidence, Class and Communication Skills with Etiquette Products.