Dirty Airline Seats

[snarlingcoyote]

I hope the selfish and dirty people in the world ( you know who you are, why some of you are reading this) ...

So please, enjoy your squalor and your ability to be carefree and careless. Anything you say about me or misinterpret about me doesn't mean a thing. I am just happy that you don't invite me to your house if you use dirty utensils, or stop in the middle of cooking to use the toilet and wash your hands.
Those who read me and get me wipe down your airline tray tables. Those who don't enjoy eating off of somebody else's hair. Good bye and Good luck.

I never said I don't wash my hands. I wash my hands every time I am near a sink which an epidemiologist friend of mine says is the ONE thing we should all do to prevent the spread of disease. The rest, she says, can really go hang. (Of course, she is one of the people I spit into my hand for. )

But thank you. I will enjoy my squalor and my carelessness and will enjoy my muffin eaten off someone else's hair. And I will definitely strike you off my welcome list, even if you whine and beg when you see my Pecan Praline Cheesecake with the cream cheese frosting (it's made with praline liquer, you know).

I told you what I do, btw. I did not say anything mean or nasty about you as a person, but rather issued my own declaration of how I live my life.

Go, enjoy your life, and I will enjoy mine. This, after all, is all we can do in life, as God does not have "do-overs".

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Well, 'poopyhead' would have been more fitting to this thread, don't you think?

And certainly I don't think that the term squalour applies to our situation; last night there was a huge storm which wiped away part of the makeshift homes outside my window. Again I am ashamed to contrast our pettiness and our lack of proportion to what billions of people handle every day in this world. For most of them access to clean water and running toilets isn't any sort of option at all.

We have the ability and the money and the resources to fly. As PrincessKMom's said, if flying is so dangerous to us, then maybe it isn't the right choice. OR as I said earlier, if one chooses to wipe down the seat and tray table, go right ahead. Just don't expect everyone else to be willing to pay that cost involved to 'sanitize' the entire aircraft.

Oh goodness!

I"m sending good wishes your way. Prayers too, if you're of the bent to want them.

 

[bavaria]

Ok, after a partial night's sleep I am back....

OP, I actually feel very sorry for you. I don't like pity myself, but there are times when I do pity others. Any chronic or major illness is a challenge. I know that, as do most of the readers here.

However, I truly believe that you owe many if not most of the posters on this thread an apology. Many of them have chronic illnesses themselves, or have children with illness, or a parent with terminal illness.

Using your illness to create a sense of moral superiority over those who do not agree with you just isn't fair, especially when you haven't taken the time to get to know these people. I 'know' the vast majority of them; while I may only know a few in person, I have taken the time over the years to read their posts, and to sometimes read between the lines of what they have said. Not everyone uses their personal situation to garner sympathy or as a weapon or to strengthen their argument.

People choose to handle the challenges in life in different ways. You made your choice; none of us insulted you for that choice. Most of did point out why it isn't a viable collective choice, but encouraged you to continue with your own personal choice, so long as it didn't negatively impact others.

I can only hope that it is your illness which coloured your responses here, and that in real life you are a different person than what you presented here. I truly would like to think that is the case.

An extra to all my 'buddies' on this thread who are dealing with their own challenges in their own families with grace. Good health to all of you and to your families, and for those who may not have much more time together, may it be filled with as many special moments as possible.

 

[Aimros]

I never said I don't wash my hands. I wash my hands every time I am near a sink which an epidemiologist friend of mine says is the ONE thing we should all do to prevent the spread of disease.

Yay for epidemiology! I saw it mentioned twice in this thread... I'm an epi grad student and its never mentioned, whoo hoo!

Just had to share that

 

[disneycruising]

Actually most air is filtered, it may recirculated, but it is filtered each time, it's probably more clean then even the cleanest home. As for the rest of the plane, eh, seriously, I fly a ton, never consider it, never worry about it. I actually find when I travel I tend to stay healthier then when I'm actually around my office and home.

I'm fine with an individual choosing to wipe down their surroundings, but requiring an airline to do more then they already do, nope, I'd like to keep my flight options as open as they are already (which is less then they were in the past).

The air on airplanes is bad. One of the first things we do after getting on the plane is turn off all the air vents over out heads. Right after we... wipe down all of our tray tables, arm rests and anything else that we can wipe.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Yay for epidemiology! I saw it mentioned twice in this thread... I'm an epi grad student and its never mentioned, whoo hoo!

Just had to share that

It should be mentioned! Ya'll are da' bomb. (I am soooo out of date on my slang!) Epi studies of disease transmission SHOULD be the way we make our choices about cleanliness and how we live!

 

[Pinnie]

OP, so far since September, my kindergarten classes have experienced MRSA, scabies, lice and flu. Other than washing my hands frequently with the soap our district provides, I don't do anything else. The custodianse did clean the room after these "issues" were diagnosed but I doubt that it made much difference.

I attended an inservice after work about the H1N1 virus and was basically told that cleaning up a classroom AFTER a child has been diagnosed is closing the barn door after the horse leaves. The infected person sheds the virus before even showing symptoms. Your government can't even decide how long the virus can remain viable on a surface. Some say 7 hours, others say 72 hours. We do clean, but do you seriously think we can get everything the child may have touched in the course of the day?

OP, do you touch your mail? Maybe the mailman sneezed or blew his nose before he put the letters in your mailbox. Maybe the stockboy at the grocery store didn't wash his hands after he blew his nose and you picked up the bag of chips. What about the pizza deliver guy? You could go nuts wondering about these things.

If you are that concerned about germs on a plane, I suggest that you not fly during a pandemic. Nor should you do anything else that may compromise your condition. Those of us who fly frequently (as I do for my summer job) will continue to deal with the "unwashed and unclean" flying masses.

Best wishes.

pinnie

 

[crashbb]

It should be mentioned! Ya'll are da' bomb. (I am soooo out of date on my slang!) Epi studies of disease transmission SHOULD be the way we make our choices about cleanliness and how we live!

Woo Hoo...I'm da' bomb.

 

[bavaria]

Woo Hoo...I'm da' bomb.

Well, on the Transportation Board, maybe.... Over on the Theme Parks Board however they are not speaking too kindly of Canadian scientists and statisticians!

 

[ToyStory]

We just returned from our trip. We flew Jetblue from Newark to Orlando and round trip. With concerns about flu, swine flu etc. I brought Handi wipe antibacterial wipes to clean the tray tables. Thank God I did. I have a chronic illness and three children. Two tray tables had coffee and food residue and one had coffee and a hair. After seeing that we proceeded to wipe down the arm rests and the seats and the seat back in front of us. Wow. It took 3-4 wipes and they were black! I would highly recommend everyone doing the same for your own protection. It is not just Jetblue, I think, all these airlines want a quick turnaround and overlook a lot. I don't expect a whole lot but at a minimum tray tables and arm rests need to be cleaned. Also, it skeeved me that the people serving beverages and food were the same ones collected trash that other people ate and drank from. I made my kids drink from the can after I cleaned it and no cups or ice that everybody touched. Again not just Jetblue (who I actually love) and I fly about twice a year, this will be part of my routine now.

Thank you for posting this. I was planning on doing this when we leave on Friday on Jet Blue. After reading this I am definatley going to do this.

 

[pooch]

Well, on the Transportation Board, maybe.... Over on the Theme Parks Board however they are not speaking too kindly of Canadian scientists and statisticians!

been cheating on the Transportation Board?!?!?

 

[crashbb]

Well, on the Transportation Board, maybe.... Over on the Theme Parks Board however they are not speaking too kindly of Canadian scientists and statisticians!

Something tells me that I don't want to go over there....

 

[bavaria]

been cheating on the Transportation Board?!?!?

Something tells me that I don't want to go over there....

Those Theme Parks people are good for some entertainment every once in awhile when the Transportation Board isn't living up to its reputation...

crash, apparently being Canadian is not the appropriate criteria for determining crowd levels at Disney. Something about the metric system, or the extra U's and L's, perhaps?

 

[disfan07]

I fly 5 to 6 times a year.

i have severe asthma, a heart condition, and a compromised immune system from immunosuppresent drugs and I have yet to get sick from a flight.

As my cardiologist said when i was telling her i was traveling twice during the winter...I am more likely to catch something at school than on a plane....apparently college kids do not know how to cover their mouths when they cough or what tissues are

Seriusly though...i cant get the flu shot adn i'm more worried about cataching it from someone at school than I am about catching it on a 5 hour plane ride in december.

The air on the plane is not as bad as people whnk. Most airlines use HEPA filters so the air might be recirculated but it's not like the person behind you is breathing into your mouth

 

[crashbb]

Those Theme Parks people are good for some entertainment every once in awhile when the Transportation Board isn't living up to its reputation...

crash, apparently being Canadian is not the appropriate criteria for determining crowd levels at Disney. Something about the metric system, or the extra U's and L's, perhaps?

A friend posted this on Facebook today, and it seemed approriate (re the metric system).

Countries that don't use metric:

Isn't the red a pretty colour? Especially the one far from the centre of the map? Pity the map is not labelled though.

Okay, now I have to find that thread.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Those Theme Parks people are good for some entertainment every once in awhile when the Transportation Board isn't living up to its reputation...

crash, apparently being Canadian is not the appropriate criteria for determining crowd levels at Disney. Something about the metric system, or the extra U's and L's, perhaps?

I'm going to play nice as they're hosting the Winter Olympics. Wouldn't want to stir up any political incidents related to the use of "eh" right now.

Back to packing for Reno. . .5:30AM flight. Sigh.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

It shouldn't be red, it should be covered with snowflakes. In the interest of full disclosure, I am one of those snowflakes who would die if they ever converted the U.S.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

A friend posted this on Facebook today, and it seemed approriate (re the metric system).

Countries that don't use metric:

Isn't the red a pretty colour? Especially the one far from the centre of the map? Pity the map is not labelled though.

Okay, now I have to find that thread.

Yeah yeah. And the Brits still don't use the Euro.

Totally unrelated but in my avocational field, (as opposed to my vocational field, which is different from my volunteer field, mind you) we use the metric system exclusively - something silly about the entire rest of the world being on metric or something, I don't know - and it is well nigh to IMPOSSIBLE to find a metric tape measure in a US hardware store. I get mine from the thrift store!

 

[bavaria]

Hint: Liberia and Myanmar....

Maybe we should dredge up that thread where I tried to be helpful and posted both oz and ml as many of the posters here may not understand metric. That resulted in my being called a somethingorother for apparently insulting the collective intelligence of the Transportation Board.

Thank you PrincessK'sMom for your support of my stance and for making my point for me I know that I can always count on you!

And I freely admit over and over here that I don't speak feet, miles, or Fahrenheit, and I am not offended by that fact!

 

[crashbb]

Hint: Liberia and Myanmar....

I actually knew that - labelled was the first "ll" word that came to mind.

I do remember that oz to mL thread (youch).