Exit Row

On my most recent trip from California to Florida, I was sitting on an Exit Row where the leg-room is better, but the seats didn't recline. No worries I thought, it was only about a 3 hour flight, I've endured worse than that.

The two girls sitting behind me obviously hadn't been on an exit row seat before so they were a little taken by the spacious seating and emergency procedures they would be required to fulfill.

As I listened to them talk I heard them mention they were SO glad to be returning home to Florida from a long trip of vacation and shopping. I mean it just sounded appalling that they had done all this shopping at Hollister (the store not the city) and Abercrombie and Fitch where they got all sorts of new clothes. The worst part of the trip was when they had gone to Nordstrom Rack and found two pair of shoes at $80 a piece that their mom wouldn't let them purchase, what insolence that their mother would do something like that.

I think two things trouble me about overhearing their conversation, which they weren't trying to keep quiet so I don't feel as bad about hearing what they were saying.

1. If an emergency had arisen and these girls had to help people exit the plane; would they have been more concerned with their iPods, shopping bags and Couture purses than with helping the passengers get out safely? Would I have more concern for others' safety than for my things? Would you?

2. Listening to them talk I wondered what I spend time talking about. Do I sound the same to others who listen to my conversations? If we recorded everything that we said during the day, would we want to listen to ourselves at night?

No offense intended to those who buy those brands of clothes, but I sure hope it doesn't become something more important to you than those precious few moments we could be spending with God.