MOULTRIE, Ga.-

When I read the account of the passenger being dragged from an overbooked United Airlines flight, I had a flashback. And no, I’ve never been dragged from an airliner. Mostly it was one of those “there but by the grace of God, go I” moments.

Some years ago I had been in a conference in Washington D.C., for several days. It had been snowing and sleeting all week, and by my interpretation it was a useless conference. It was four days of my life that I can never get back.  I was tired and miserable and ready to go home.

So there I was that Friday afternoon seated on my flight, figuring that in just a few hours I would be back in sunny South Georgia. Then another passenger stopped by my aisle seat and informed me that I had his seat. I looked at my ticket and confirmed that I was in my assigned seat. I looked at his ticket, and he had my number as well.

I didn’t see this ending well, so I fastened my seatbelt. While he was explaining that I should get up and give him “his” seat, another passenger came up with the same seat assignment. I gave my seatbelt an extra tug. This had never happened to me before, and I wasn’t sure how it was going to play out.

Things started getting a bit loud. A flight attendant came up to see what the commotion was about. She looked at my ticket, and then she looked at the other two tickets. She mumbled something under her breath, and although I could not hear the exact words, I could tell she was making reference to the geniuses in the top office.

I was relieved when she told the other two passengers that this was my seat because I was booked by computer much earlier than their tickets. At that point, there was no room left for interpretation when it came to what the other two passengers were saying. They definitely had some unkind thoughts about those same geniuses.

The flight attendant told them they would be booked on another flight as soon as possible. I loosened my seatbelt a little at that point.

Now I certainly understood the frustrations of the other two passengers. They were not at the same conference with me, but I could tell they wanted to get home as bad as I did.

Thinking about what happened in the aforementioned United Airlines case, I doubt seriously cops would have found it necessary to drag me off the plane if the flight attendant had not ruled in my favor.  I would have been upset, but I would not have caused a ruckus. (And I’m not saying the passenger on United caused a ruckus.)

I’ve noted before in my columns that when there’s 30,000 feet between my feet and the ground, I’m very subservient to airline rules. And even though we were still sitting at the terminal, I consider myself in another world once I step foot inside an aircraft. It’s a world where I don’t control things and cooperation becomes the most operative of words.

On that note, let me digress for just a moment. I noted that I was in an aisle seat. There was a time when I would try to get a window seat so I could help the pilot … I could keep an eye on the wings and engines for him. But later on in my life, the plane I was on got into a severe thunderstorm, and we were being bounced around like a beach ball in a football stadium. I had an epiphany.  By choosing an aisle seat, it was much easier to get to the bathroom, especially if that seat was near the rear of the plane. I saw a double advantage there. Planes don’t typically crash tail first.

Yes, I know that’s a false sense of security but then so is faith in our Congress. And I think they probably can crash tail first.

(Dwain Walden is editor/publisher of The Moultrie Observer, 985-4545. Email: dwain.walden@gaflnews.com)