As I was flying to my retreat last week, I changed planes in Vegas. Boarding the plane from Spokane to Vegas we were told it was completely full. I took an aisle seat, leaving an empty between myself and the fellow in the wing seat (Southwest, open seating). A short time later a young lady asked us if the seat was available, and both I and the other fellow said yes. A few minutes later the young lady said to the wing seat guy "Is that," pointing to a woman working her way down the isle, "your wife?" The fellow said it was. The woman said she was talking with his wife before boarding, and that the wife had hoped her husband could save a seat for her. The young women then offered to get up so the couple could sit together. The wing fellow said no!? A couple minutes later, the woman again offered to get up, and the man again said no thanks - but the woman declared she would give up her seat, and both she and I got up as the wife reached us.

I don't know why the fellow refused the offer twice - was he trying to avoid his wife? Was he interested in sitting next to the young lady? Was he just unwilling to put a stranger out? Regardless of the reason, he was willing to start a vacation in Vegas with his wife, sitting next to some other lady on the airplane. In my mind, this is a very bad sign for the future of their marriage, or at least for a happy future.

Do you love your wife enough to let a stranger move? Do you love her enough to ask a stranger to move? How do you think your bride would feel about you doing either?" How would she feel if she knew you turned down an offer to let her sit next to you?

Just something to think about.