Never done this before.

Presently, I’m writing this on the plane, soaring 37,043 ft above Madison, Wisconsin. Pardon me if this post comes out a bit awkward, as I am currently 75% occupied watching TV (I’m on JetBlue, of course); specifically, I’m watching the Dog Whisperer, a National Geographic program about a dog psychologist. Despite how it may sound, it really is quite good. At the moment, Caesar, the somewhat-gay canine-therapist, is training the gremlin out of this nasty little Chihuahua. And, as usual (this isn’t my first time watching the program), his magic is working.

But I digress. The real reason for this departure from my normal in-air habits is to recall an awkward but funny-in-retrospect situation from the flight home. What makes that flight worth discussing is that I was unfortunately assigned a seat next to the person whom you would least want to sit next to on a 6-hour flight. No, not an overly talkative old woman (they can be somewhat entertaining – for 15 minutes). And, no, I’m not alluding to a screaming baby, although that would be quite bad, too.

As luck would have it, JetBlue granted me a seat adjacent to a 20-something male with a gigantic ‘fro. And by this, I don’t intend to conjure images of the standard, circular, dome-like afro we have all come to love and respect. The massive afro atop this guy's head was more like a porcupine or a puffer fish in defensive position, complete with quills or spines (depending on which analogy you prefer) that measured feet instead of inches.

Now, on its own, the mere fact that a guy with a huge 'fro sat next to me on a plane would not have caused much of a problem, nor been worthy of a mention on this Pulitzer prize-deserving website. And, as most of my friends can attest, I’m not one of those people that would publicly insult a person just because he or she opts for a different lifestyle or mode of dress. Nevertheless, I am a firm believer in the fact that if you happen to have a possibly hazardous and annoying hairstyle, you should make sure to keep it under control for the sake of your fellow man.

This guy, however, was so tired that he could not keep his hair from constantly bombarded me and the girl sitting on his other side. It was a classic case of the uncontrollable head-drop – everyone, I’m sure, remembers watching an exhausted (or bored) classmate in high school struggling to keep his forehead from colliding with the desk. It was funny back then, yes, but it loses much of its comedic value when the offending head almost ends up on your shoulder and the offending 'fro blocks your view of the TV.

The guy with the 'fro is on this flight. I wonder what unsuspecting sap is stuck in the seat next to him. Thankfully, it’s not me and I’m able to watch the Dog Whisperer with a clear view.