I have seen passengers bring some unusual food onboard airplanes over the years, but I never ceased to be amazed: this time over three hard-boiled eggs, carefully transported in pink plastic egg carton and consumed one by one during an American Airlines flight while simultaneously asking quite a lot from her seatmates.
American Airlines Passenger Brings Three Hard-Boiled Eggs Onboard, Enlists Seatmates Into Technical Support
A reddit user shared this rather memorable account of a recent American Airlines flight:
“This was a new one for me. My husband also got stuck helping her set up her wifi on her phone. She proceeded to listen her phone with no headphones. Then she complained that her phone was too small and kept making comments about how it’s above her and she can’t lift her bag. I got her bag down and got her iPad. Then my husband had to help her with her wifi on that. She wanted her headphones though and started describing where those were in her bag. I told her that I will get her bag down from her but I’m not going to be digging through her stuff. She did eat all three eggs throughout our flight.”
Poor Aunt Mildred…the eggs are only pat of this story.
First the Wi-Fi setup. Then the speakerphone entertainment with no headphones. Then the bag retrieval. Then the iPad. Then another round of Wi-Fi assistance. Then a request to locate headphones somewhere inside the bag.
And through it all…three hard-boiled eggs.
What an in-flight snack: they are protein-rich, portable, and apparently require no refrigeration for the duration of an American Airlines flight…ugh. Can you imagine how those must have smelled after a few hours?
I was on a flight this week where my seatmate across the aisle annoyed me by eating a smelly cheeseburger during boarding, but I guess I should have counted my lucky stars that at least he wasn’t eating hard-boiled eggs.
There’s something wonderfully absurd about sitting in economy while your seatmate methodically works through an egg carton as nearby passengers become unpaid tech support…
CONCLUSION
Air travel brings strangers together in intimate ways, sometimes far more intimate than many of us want. Helping a fellow passenger with Wi-Fi is one thing. Digging through her carry-on to locate headphones while she eats her third hard-boiled egg is where I would probably draw the line…
There’s aging gracefully, then there’s this. Then again, she’s out in the world, not stuck in a nursing home, so, you go grandma! Eat them eggs!
At least her fellow passengers were relatively kind (other than the whole ‘taking a photo of her oddities, then throwing-shade online afterwards’…yeah, maybe that wasn’t as ‘nice.’)
Yeah she seems relatively harmless all things considered.
As an aside, reusing unwashed egg cartons can be a food poisoning issue:
“Pastry shells from DeFusco’s had been stored in used egg crates, which could have exposed the shells to infected raw eggs.”
https://www.ri.gov/press/view/13491
I’m older than most here. If I acted that way, I should be sent to a home. I have a great deal of respect for the elderly and will happily be of assistance on reasonable things. But, there is no excuse for making others be your servants. Can’t lift your carry on? Check it or pack lighter.
I am older my self(mid 70’s) am lucky enough to not have any mobility or cognitive problems so don’t need anyones help. When I fly (on a trip next week) I try to make myself invisible and not bother or irritate anyone. If you want some polite conversation I am good with that. I just read my book mostly and just go along and get along.
One needs to control the timing when boiling eggs. Let it go a minute longer than necessary you will have the ick sulphur smell. Besides being rather a rather needy seatmate she has not mastered her cooking skills. Practice at home as it will serve you well
I would be worried about the effect eating those eggs would have on oders that might start emitting from her.
I would happily dig the headphones out so I was not subjected to whatever nonsense she had on her phone/ipad