Phyl was courteous, deferrent, and selfless. But in some motifs, she could turn into Godzilla. Scary tough. She could be singleminded and aggressive when she believed a system was taking advantage. That was myphyllis. A few of her pet phyllispeeves were late fees, returning items, and car buying negotiations. She’d go from kitty to bulldog and would not be denied. Friends knew the phyllisstories and would often come to her to overcome those situations. She took great pride in always succeeding for them. I’ve previously written about those.
The other day, our neighbor Theresa was explaining how difficult it was for her to sit her five kids together on airlines with unassigned seats like Southwest. Flashback to another phyllispeeve, airline seating. When they, again and again, limited seat- and leg-room, it offended her. She would arrange an aisle seat for her, a window for me, and an empty seat in the middle, so we could raise the chair arms for comfort. She would arrange that with, or most often without, the airlines’ help. To get her wish, she was so creatively tricky and undauntedly sneaky, I’m unembarrassed to say I was appalled, but proud. One rarely saw aggression from phyl, nor her considerable skills as an actress. But, when they’d try to sit her where she didn’t want to sit, or more often without an empty seat beside her, the airline paid for her matinee performance.
We only flew American and Southwest. On American, with assigned seating, her progression would be 1—get huffy with the agent 2—play loudly to the onlookers and those behind her in line 3—fake faint. No, I’m not kidding. On Southwest, with unassigned, but ordered seating, the effort was to pre-empt the order, pre-board, and then save seats. The progression was 1—get a wheelchair OR get there one hour before flight, when the agent was just setting up and give an incredible sob story that you’d think no-one would believe, like Tonya Harding just whacked her in the knee, or she was crumping and disjointed her ankle, and somehow get the agent to buy it and give her the little blue pre-boarding folder she’d then surreptitiously wave at me in triumph. 2—preboard and (no, this is not exaggeration, I’ve seen her do the following multiple times…)put all sorts of crap on the needed seats beside her OR cough, sneeze, and hack violently when someone would move to sit there OR wear a hospital mask OR, absolutely true, warn the person making a move to sit there that she felt a duty to disclose that she was ill, and they’d be sitting there at their own risk. The kids didn’t get their talent from me.
mycuckoo, no-one was, is, or ever will be like you. you are the most special girl ever.
i love you to the sky.
