A MISCHIEVOUS KID ON THE AIRPLANE

On a flight to Atlanta, I was seated in the row behind the First Class section next to an absolutely exhausted young mother with a screaming three year old seated next to the window. I always take the aisle seat. The screaming and crying lasted 47 minutes and throughout it all, the poor mom kept swatting the child on the rump thinking this would stop the crying fit. Eventually, the boy chilled out and the mom fell asleep. It was obvious to me she had suffered a tough day even without the commotion. I felt badly for her. Okay, at least she was asleep. As a diversion, I made funny faces with the kid. He quietly showed me his crayon artwork, handed me a crayon and we both took turns coloring. Sensing the passengers behind me (who were about to commit mutiny on the bounty) easing into the flight, I tried to keep the child occupied. Suddenly, he was out of his seat belt and standing facing his seat. He reached into his mother's purse and removed one of those orange drinks sealed in a plastic bag that you poke open with a straw shaped like a spear. Well, he used his teeth to tear open a corner, held it over his open seat and looked at me. Sensing a disaster, I used both hands to wave him off shaking my head as if to say "NO, not THAT!" so as not to wake the mother and cause a riot. Yup, he emptied the entire contents onto his cloth seat cushion without breaking eye contact with me (the next Robin Williams?). As he was giggling, I hailed a flight attendant who was so cool. She said, "No problem, it's velcroed in. I'll just swap it out" and did so swiftly. I even made sure we ditched the evidence (the empty packet of juice). We landed half an hour later and the mother never knew what happened. Plus she was rested and in a better mood. "I'm so sorry for the commotion", she said. "Oh, not a problem", I replied. "He has a sense of humor". All's well, ends well!