Exit Stage Left

I'm outta here!

JetBlue Flight 1052 from Pittsburgh had taxied to a stop at Terminal 5, Gate C around noon Monday when flight attendant Steven Slater, 38 years old, was struck in the head with luggage that a passenger was trying to unload from an overhead compartment...

Slater demanded an apology from the passenger, the official said, but the passenger refused. The two argued before the passenger told Slater to “fuck off”, the official said. Slater then got on the plane’s PA system and directed that same obscenity at all the passengers and added that he especially meant it for the man who refused to apologize.

Slater is alleged to have then activated the plane’s inflatable emergency slide, grabbed two beers from the galley, then slid down the chute

Okay, I gotta give him credit: THAT is how you make an exit. Well done, sir!

Besides, I completely understand his frustration. Whenever a plane pulls up to the gate, every numb-skull onboard immediately stands up and starts forcing his luggage out of the overhead with no regard for decorum or safety. Then they get to stand there for the next fifteen minutes, half crouched over or crammed into the aisle like a bunch of gerbils stuck in a pipe, while the plane slowly empties.

Meanwhile, I'm still quietly seated at the window, reading my book and ignoring the seething mass of stupidity all around me. I've gotten quite good at that, really. Which is just as well, since the only alternative is a killing spree.

Cheers, Steven!