[Home-on-the-range] Thanks and Giving

[Cindy Ray]

I think it is amazing the gifts we have received from the National Federation of the Blind, and one of the most important ones is the friends we've made and the confidence we've gained along the way. I guess that is two.

Last night I boarded a plane in Chicago. It was a Southwest Airlines plane, and the seating is open, so since I was pre boarding and the first to get there, I moved back some. A man who was on the crew told me I could not sit anywhere except the front. I said why was that? and he said because I had a service animal. I told him that what he was saying to me was simply not true. I told him I fly a lot and even have flown his airline and that I had not sat front. He argued with me a bit, and so I went there. This wasn't because I was afraid not to so much, but I really figured that I was anxious to get where I was going. I sat down, and the crew member went inside and got the service agent. He told me I was required to ride in the front. (I had my belt fastened there already.) I told him I was flying there but he needed to show me evidence of such a policy, and he said I can find it on the website. He also told me that if I choose to argue with the crew I can be removed from the aircraft. That would have been fine with me, but I wasn't sure what it would accomplish. It would have proved to my brothers and sisters in the NFB that I had been strong for the cause, but it would have made getting here to my daughter's much more difficult, and I will be here only until Friday. 

A bit later, a woman came onto the plane and asked if we have an issue here. I said that we no longer had one, and he asked me to tell her what happened. She told me I was correct in the fact that I was not required to ride front, but the dog needed to curl up under the eat in front of me. No dog could do that, but he can go front to back and leave a fair amount of space. The seating area was a little small. I could have moved then, but I did not want to undo the belt, get all of my stuff together and move, though in retrospect I could have because I got on very early. I think after I did, they were halted in their loading by a maintenance issue. It must have been small because we didn't leave all that late, and I got an update of the delay on the phone. In a way I wish I had moved, tried out another seat with the option of returning to the front if I couldn't get cooperation from Fisher. It would use have been an option time wise.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Cindy Lou