15 Seconds

Somewhere over Italy

18 February2024

Shortly after boarding my plane in Naples Italy, a family of four sat across the aisle and began to settle in.  Unfortunately the youngest member of that family would not be settled until we landed in Rome, and hour after we boarded the plane.

I have watched many horror movies over the years, and I have never heard a gut-wrenching scream as this 3-year old’s scream.  And the scream was sustained for an hour.  The mother tried taking the child to the rear of the plane and the father watched over the other child.  That child was well behaved and not just because she was quiet.  She was an angel in her own right.  The mother was beside herself.  The father could only hang his head.

Fellow passengers tolerated as much as possible, though one lady walked up and tried to help the child.  Did I mention that this was a stranger trying to help a child who was already out of control?  All I could do was move from the aisle seat to the window, turn up my podcasts, and breathe deeply, again and again. 

When the pilot landed the plane with a thud the crying child stopped for about 15 seconds and then started screaming again.  And then, two minutes later, the child fell asleep.