I was sat at my hotel bar in deepest Vermont the other day watching some televised baseball when the name of the coach of the Kansas City Royals team flashed on the screen. I nearly fell off my stool and then laughed uncontrollably for what felt like minutes. The name was “Rusty Kuntz” and the surname was even emblazoned on the back of his shirt. You honestly couldn’t make this up and if you find this hard to believe just Google his name.

This unintentional humour over people’s names seems to happen a lot in the US and the logical explanation is that many of the names are from immigrants in whose country of origin the names are fine but when spoken or spelt in English are often anything but. For example, I read of an athlete of Chinese origin called Kim Yoo Suk. I wonder if the crowds chant her name at athletics events?

Then there was the US lawyer, again of Chinese extraction called Susan Yoo. I hope she specialises in litigation since who wouldn’t want to be represented by a lawyer called Sue Yoo! I also read of a judge called Willie Stroker and that must get a few laughs in the courtroom too.

Closer to home I remember an estate agent in South Manchester called Richard Head. Would you really want to place your house on the market with somebody called Dick Head? Possibly not.

Parents need to think carefully before they name their children since a carelessly chosen name or a failure to connect the Christian name to the surname can lead to a life of constant embarrassment and ridicule which brings us back to poor old Rusty. What a life he must have had. Just imagine the school roll call each morning “Smith, Jones, Brown…………………….Kuntz” or the looks he must get when checking in at a hotel or producing his id. He must go through a thousand agonies every week of his life. Poor K….!

I saw a poster the other day which, bearing in mind the name and aims of this blog, I thought quite apposite –
“Common sense is like deodorant. The people who need it the most never use it.”

I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of being stood or sat next to somebody, usually on public transport, who smells like they are strangers to soap, let alone deodorant. The question is how should you deal with that situation? Clearly you could move if there is room or if there are alternative seats but, what if you’re on an aeroplane and the flight is full?

A couple of weeks ago a man, booked on a Dallas to Paris flight, was refused permission to fly because his body odour was so unpleasant that several passengers complained about the smell.

It probably happens more often than you would think. I think I was sat next to his brother on a flight to Atlanta earlier this week!

Last week, two commercial flights were diverted due to air rage arising out of the use of reclining seats. Actually, one of the incidents involved the use of a rather ingenious device to prevent the seat in front from reclining but the issue is still the same.

Flying is a stressful enough experience for most people these days, what with increased security, endless queues and the attitude of some of the officials but the problem of reclining seats seems to be one of the most common sources of friction. What can you do if the seat in front of you suddenly launches back causing the television screen to smack against your face, your plate of beef curry to overturn on your lap and your red wine to splash on to your nice white shirt? And should you recline your own seat without first communicating your intention to the passenger immediately behind you?

These are vexed questions and there seem to be no clear guidelines other than those of common sense and courtesy. If food and drink are being served then it is clearly selfish and thoughtless to recline your seat and many is the time that, to avoid confrontation, I have simply asked a member of the cabin crew to ask the person in front to put his or her seat back up whilst I enjoy my meal. After we’ve all eaten and most of the passengers are ready to sleep(particularly on long haul overnight flights)it’s alright, I think, to recline your seat but it’s always nice to politely indicate your intention to the person behind.

On short haul flights of up to 4 hours or so the easiest solution would be to just use planes with fixed seats so that reclining is not an option. Some airlines already do this and maybe it should become a universal practice. If people still want to recline and sleep then they should have the option of paying more to be seated in a special reclining section. Mind you, it’s easy for me to say that since, as a regular traveller in cattle class, I am lucky enough to be able to sleep in any position!

Unless something is done about the use of reclining seats the problem of passenger rage is not going to disappear and will simply remain as just another irritant of air travel. As for the fiddling pain in the butt who sits behind you, kneeing the back of your seat, shaking your headrest and pulling your hair? Well that’s another story!