Reflection 65 – SIR, Please! Back To Your Seat!

I had my fair share of traveling up until 2020 when I finally left the USA and returned to Egypt. The period between 2008-2020 was full of lots of cross-Atlantic trips back and forth between Egypt and the USA along with other trips to Europe. And I must admit that Egyptians stand out . And probably many of you will relate to what I will say. First, Egyptians are the only ones (from what I know at least), who collectively clap once the plane touches the ground. Not sure why? Is it because the default that people think of, is for the plane to explode, and this is sort of showing gratitude to God and the pilot that they safely made it. Maybe! The second one (which I love the most) is that you see a decent number of passengers beginning to unload their stuff and walk in the aisles towards the plane’s door while the plane is still in the parking process. The question then becomes: where are you guys heading? And even if you make it the front, then what? I believe I was once traveling to the US via KLM making a stop at Amsterdam when suddenly several Egyptians began to walk the aisles when they were faced with a firm tone from the Dutch flight attendants (who were basically in shock, and rightfully so!) saying: Sir, please! Back to your seat!
Physiologists differ on the strongest muscles in the human body with some of them claiming it is the jaw muscles used for chewing (I can hear you now saying what does the strongest muscle has to do with Egyptians messing up the international codes and guidelines for air travel… Please bear with me ). Let me ask you this: Have you ever bitten your tongue? Most probably, yes! Did it hurt? Indeed! People typically bite their tongues unintentionally (unless you’re crazy and enjoy the pain). To endure this kind of pain every now and then is not big of a deal. But to have to go through it on a regular basis… Well, that ‘s not very pleasant. Let‘s now talk ALS. The tongue is a muscle like others. In ALS, it also loses its strength gradually. This in turn affects two main functions. First, eating. One of the main tasks your tongue does is moving the food right and left and mixing it with saliva to make food chewable. Otherwise, as in my case, the food will simply sit towards one end of the mouth making it easy to choke. Second, talking. The movement of the tongue and the vibrations it generates enable one to speak. Once this muscle gets weaker, it becomes more difficult to clearly articulate your words. But that is not all, unfortunately!
After having a tracheostomy inserted in my neck last year and having to be hooked to a ventilator, this comes with a little bit of a discomforting process called suction. Simply, a nurse inserts a suction tube through that opening to get secretions out of the lungs. The process is nasty in and of itself. But to add insult to the injury is that once this tube is pushed down your throat, you unintentionally stick your tongue out. And guess what?! Yup! Your strongest muscle begins to flex in to show you how strong it is by biting relentlessly on your poor tongue. Normally, you would simply pull your tongue in and game over! But guess what? That poor tongue of yours can‘t pull itself inside anymore and must surrender to that extreme force of the jaw muscles. This is where I laugh and remember that saying by our dear Dutch flight attendant talking to my fellow Egyptian. And I wish I can talk to my tongue and tell him: Sir, please. Back to your seat .