On my last trip there was a mother and her deaf son. Mom had an aisle seat and center seat near the front of the plane. Mom was so over-weight she had purchased two seats for herself, and she needed the two seats. Son had window seat more to the middle of the plane.

FA asked seat companion next to deaf boy as well as seat companion next to Mom to switch seats so Mom and Son could be together.

Both seat companions refused. The Son had a very difficult time on the flight. He made many trips up to his mother. He was afraid and insecure and worried. He also blocked the aisle and made things much more difficult for the FAs. A couple of times he came up and sat on the floor near his Mom.

My husband and I tried to figure out what we could do to help. We had window and center seat and our aisle seat was occupied by a stranger. We decided that stranger could take Mom's seat. I would take Son's seat leaving my seat unoccupied for Mom, and my husband could take center seat previously reserved for Mom's over-splll. The jerk in the aisle seat would have only had to move up one row, and he refused.

I know that people have no obligation to switch seats, but really......? How difficult would it have been to unbuckle a seat belt and move up one row to eliminate all the anxiety from the deaf son?

Oh.....Mom and Son had been unable to get three seats in a row because they booked last minute tickets to attend funeral of grandfather. I suppose one could argue that if Mom were not over-weight she could have put Son in seat next to her. Unfortunately there was not enough time between death and funeral for Mom to lose the extra weight. She did pay for two seats so she did not invade the space of the person next to her. I have been sitting by people who were much more over-weight and did not feel obligated to purchase an extra seat. I think she was very socially responsible.

The jerk sitting in the window seat on Mom's row really had the benefit of a nearly empty center seat, and I am positive that is why he would not move. Even though Mom bought the seat, he had his briefcase and laptop spread out ten minutes after take-off.

I was embarrassed for my fellow man on that day, until we arrived at our mid-point. At that point two businessmen, wearing suits and ties gave their seats in First Class to two young men wearing Army fatigues.

Some people will make large sacrifices, and other refuse to make small ones. On some days flying is not as fun as it once was.