22B

This won't end well.

Apparently, the passenger in 22B was traveling alone.

All 36 passengers in Rows 16 through 27 knew 22B was traveling alone. Those in Seats 22A and 22C definitely knew he was alone. I myself was in 22D, across the aisle from him.

Unfortunately, no one bothered to nudge him after he dozed off and snorted once.

Then, when he regaled into a full blown snore, nobody woke 22B and disturbed his peace as he was now disturbing others.

Friends would’ve jammed a sock in his mouth just to see if they could.

A spouse might have given him a nudge or a jab, but he got neither of those.  

No, the passenger in 22B was alone, with no one to challenge what emanated from his mouth.

22A had enough so he bumped 22B.

“What’re you hitting me for?” 22B said after getting his bearings.

22A ignored the question.

Three minutes was all it took for 22B to settle in again and begin snoring.

This time 22C nudged him.

“What? What’s your problem, the both of you?”

22C said, “You’re snoring.”

“So? Is there a law against snoring?”

“No, but you’re annoying all the other passengers.”

“I haven’t heard any complaints from them.”

“That’s because you were snoring. How could you hear?”

“Just leave me alone. I have to get some sleep. You’re bothering me.”

Right before 22B dozed off again, three consecutive streams of water hit 22B square in the face.

The water was from a toddler in 21B, directly in front of The Snorer. The squirter was smiling and had his red squirt gun still pointed at 22B.

22B shook his head, and scowled at the kid, who was still laughing.

What was the man going to do about the boy in 21B? Shout at him? Scold his parents? That wasn’t going to happen. Instead, he merely stuck out his tongue and closed his eyes.

Try as he might, the toddler had already squeezed out all the water on his first and last salvo. His water toy was empty.

All the commotion died down after 21B’s parents saw what he was up to. They pulled him back into the seat and lectured him. I closed my eyes with a smile on my face, hoping I wouldn’t snore if I slept soundly.

But the reality of what just happened bolted me upright.

How did the family get a water pistol through security? Only two years ago, the schools were suspending kids for toaster pastries eaten in the form of a weapon.

My mind raced for answers.

Perhaps the parents had an exemption or a waiver for the squirt gun.

Or maybe the squirt pistol was registered to the parents. Not likely, and was there even such a thing?

The full answer was not something I wanted to explore in detail, though it wouldn’t be long for others nearby to come to similar conclusions about airline security. Then the ire of passengers against the airlines just might supersede their snoring annoyance of 22B.

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