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Which century do we live in?

You pay a premium to sit in the seats by the emergency doors on planes, where there is a lot of legroom.  Hence, no-one pays, or hardly anyone, so the seats are invariably empty.  All the passengers were in their appropriate seats on Thursday when I flew Ryanair from the UK to Poitiers when the stewardess approached.  I was sitting in the aisle seat, a tall man occupied the middle seat and a small man had the window seat.  Our row was behind the emergency exit row which was empty.

'Would you gentlemen like to sit in the emergency row?' the stewardess asked.  'Yes' they said in chorus.  I stood up to let them out and found myself looking down on the heed of the small man.  'You didn't ask me'  I said to the stewardess.  'We ask the men because they are taller and have longer legs', she replied.  'But that's not true is it?' I said looking pointedly at the small man.  She shrugged her shoulders and walked away.  I sat back in my seat, not too put out because I now had the row to myself but exasperated that these stupidities still go on.

Just as the seat belt light went on an enormous woman appeared, and I mean enormous.  She was as wide as she was tall.  She looked at the spare seat between the two men in the emergency row and plonked herself down forcing the men to lean left and right.  I smiled.  Retribution can be so sweet.

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