Opinion> Connie Schultz> When Manners Take Flight

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When Manners Take Flight

So often, the difference between a good day and a bad day boils down to plane etiquette.

When I fly, I'm armed with two or three newspapers. I settle into the seat, buckle the belt and then start plowing through the pages. Section by section, page by page, I underline and tear stories I want to keep. By the time the plane lands, I have a thick chunk of discarded newspapers tucked into the seat pocket in front of me.

I always intend to take them with me and toss them in the trash once I'm in the airport. Sometimes, though, I leave in such a rush that I forget.

Not anymore.

Earlier this month I flew in a crammed commuter jet that makes crossing your legs an act of yoga. Only one flight attendant was on board. She had a lighthearted way about her, joking as she served drinks to the 60 or so passengers, rushing to answer every call for blankets and pillows.

During the plane's descent, she pulled out the microphone and made this announcement: "I'm going to be walking through the cabin one last time to collect any trash. Please keep in mind that, if you leave any mess behind, I'll be the one cleaning up after you."

I was sitting toward the front, and I could hear the repeated kerplunk of bottles, cups and stacks of papers being tossed into her trash bag as she made her way down the center aisle.

When she returned to the front, I asked why she was responsible for cleaning the cabin.

"I've been doing it for a while now," she said. "They got rid of the cleaning crews on these flights."

Does her announcement help with clean-up?

"Oh yeah," she said, grinning. "It really makes a difference. Once people feel they know you, and they know that you'll be the one cleaning up after them, they tend to want to help out. They're embarrassed to leave their mess behind."

Except for children and spouses, it's true: Familiarity breeds compassion.

The attendant reminded me of the housekeeper who used to clean the bathrooms where I work.

I first met Margaret in 1998, when she pushed her cleaning trolley near my desk to tell me about her husband. She had read my series about a young mother who had died, leaving behind a husband and three young boys.

"I can relate to what that husband is going through," she told me, after asking if she could interrupt. "I lost my husband not too long ago, and it changes everything for you."

After a few minutes of conversation, she was no longer the anonymous woman in the cream-colored uniform who always smiled when I passed her in the hall. She was Margaret, a grieving wife who liked her job because it took her mind off things.

From then on, whenever I saw a newspaper discarded on the floor of a stall or used paper towels strewn on the bathroom floor, I'd think, "Look at the mess they left for Margaret." Then I'd pick it up.

We can't always know the name of those anonymous, often invisible, people whose job it is to clean up what we leave behind. We've all heard that smug retort: We're keeping them employed. But with today's downsizing and budget cuts, there are plenty of other tasks to fill their days, especially at airports, where stress is at an all-time high.

On Thursday, The New York Times reported that delayed and cancelled flights are at record highs, rivaled only by the number of passengers erupting in angry tirades.

The problem with these temper tantrums is their target. Ticket counter clerks, skycaps, baggage handlers and flight attendants aren't the reason we're stuck on the tarmac or reeling from cancelled flights. They aren't making the decisions, and many of them have suffered big pay cuts while airline executives continue to rake in big bonuses. Talk about a reason to be grumpy.

Maybe we'll all settle down a bit if we remember that plane travel is hard for everybody these days.

And everybody has a name.

Connie Schultz is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Plain Dealer and the author of two books from Random House: "Life Happens" and "… And His Lovely Wife." To find out more about Connie Schultz (cschultz@plaind.com) and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.