As soon as I sat down, she rolled her eyes and turned up her phone volume. I pulled out a small notebook and started sketching… her. Loud, smug, clutching her barking dog. She noticed. “Are you drawing me?” she scoffed. I smiled. “Yes. I’m an illustrator for Travel Etiquette Weekly. You’ll be featured in an article titled How to Make an Entire Terminal Hate You in Three Hours or Less.”
Her face turned red. She tried to snatch the notebook, but I flipped it shut. “Oh, don’t worry,” I added sweetly, “It’s already emailed to my editor. And to airport staff. They’re very curious about the lady with the pooping dog.”
That was the first moment she looked… unsure. Then came the gate announcement: families and those needing assistance first. She sprang up. “I’m in first class!” she barked. The gate agent smiled. “Not anymore, ma’am. You’ve been re-seated. Middle seat. Last row.”
The terminal burst into hushed, satisfied laughter. And for the first time all day, her dog stopped barking.
Moral: Kindness is free—but so is karma. Be the person people want to sit beside, not the one they pray to avoid.
