The Fountain of Youth

While traveling,  I think I have discovered the long lost Fountain of Youth!!! Well, it is not really a fountain, it is more like a portal, no it is not really a portal either, it is a metal detector, the Metal Detector of Youth. You see what I noticed is that on one side of the TSA screening process, there is a line of adults. They are orderly and are following directions. They managed to get to the airport by obeying signals and following directions. Somehow after they pass through the Metal Detector of Youth, and get on the secure side of the airport, they become little kids. They still have their adult bodies but if you watch closely you will see that they take on all the traits of a small kid. Here is what I noticed:

1. They do not listen to instructions. In the boarding area, the gate agent instructs everyone, "Please do not stand in front of the gate, we will be boarding by groups. You can get in line when your group number is called". What do all the adults do? They stand in front of the gate. Even though they are in Group 3,287 , they stand in the way. And, just like kids, they are oblivious to all traffic around them.
2. They do not know how to count. Walking down the aisle, with ticket in hand, they stop every two steps to look at their ticket seat number, then they look up at the row numbers. Take two steps, stop, check the ticket ,, check the row. Two more steps, double check ticket, double check the row number. For some reason, these adults lost the comprehension that row numbers are sequential and that the ticket will not change. Also, they seem, to think that the airline might be playing a trick on them and might rearrange the seat letters. I think they double check it because they are afraid, one row might be seats A, B, C, D, E and F,, the next row will have seats X, R, the symbol for Pi, T and a seat named Rodney.
3. They lost the ability to recognize spatial limitations. There will be an overhead compartment with enough space available to fit a shoebox. People will get on the plane and try to squeeze their carry-on luggage into that space. When that does not work, they try staring at it. When staring at the opening does not work they look around, open a few other compartments and then go right back and try to fit their bag into the shoebox size opening, again. Sometimes they turn the bag around, as if that will reduce it's size. In one direction the suitcase might be 3 feet in length but when you turn it around, it becomes 2 feet in length. Suddenly they are David Copperfield.
4. Déjà-vu,, They do not listen to instructions. Several times during the boarding process, you will hear the flight attendant say, put your roller boards into the overhead compartment on the D-E-F side of the plane, wheels first. We can accommodate more luggage's that way. If you brought on more than one carry-on, the smaller of the two, does under the seat in front of you. Please keel you coats in you lap until everyone has had a chance to put their bags in the overheads". I have heard this hundreds of times and hundreds of times, I watch the "adults" completely ignore the instructions. All their bags, coats, computers and possibly their shoes and pants, end up in the overhead. Meanwhile, as more people get on, they run out of overhead space because people have put all their worldly possessions in the overhead compartments.  Maybe the airlines should take a page out of the Montessori Method and teach passengers about shared spaces.

There are plenty of other examples that I could relate but I have to turn off my computer now, pack it up and move. Seems that I sat in the wrong seat.  Doh!!!