The Airport Recliner

The Airport Recliner
Photo by Marco López / Unsplash

You know those massage chairs at airports?
The big, comfy leather recliners that cost a few coins for a session?
Nobody pays.
Everyone just sits in them because they're more comfortable than the regular seats.
You know it, I know it, we've all done it.

So there I was, sitting in one, not paying, enjoying life.
Then someone walks up and gestures that they'd like to use the chair.
Fair enough.
It's a massage chair, not a bench.
I'm the freeloader here.
I got up immediately.

And then they sat down.

And didn't pay either.

I stood there for a moment, processing what had just happened.
This person didn't want a massage.
They wanted my seat.
They used social pressure and the implied moral high ground of "intended use" to claim a chair they had no more right to than I did.

I think about this more than I should.

Occasional thoughts on aesthetics, knowledge, curiosity, and things that shouldn't bother me but do.