There are some things you just shouldn’t do. But there are some things you simply need to do at the right time, and the right place. And there is a time and a place for everything that needs doing!
These are some of the lessons I learned from my grandmother, who was also my Intermediate School Principal.
We’re talking old school. Handmade wood paddles hanging in her office. And no — we’re not talking about canoeing. She was not afraid to teach lessons the old fashioned way.
But back to those little lessons that DIDN’T involve a swift paddling. One I distinctly remember had to do with that little something that can often end up up bugging you, just out of polite reach, just inside one of your nostrils.
You know — the sort of situation where it tickles, but also drives you crazy because you are breathing at different flow rates through your nostrils. And the more you try to ignore it, the more it drives you crazy?
But there is a time, a place, and a manner to handle that, and my grandmother had all that stuff figured out.
The answer to many of life’s would-be faux pas generally fall into two distinct categories: in public, or not in public.
Hence, the key to fixing my 5-year-old clogged nostril — bathroom, tissue, and alone time; no audience. Lesson learned. (Thanks, Grandma!)
The story I am bringing you now didn’t happen in the bathroom, though I bet more than a few of you already drew your conclusions. But it did involve the question of in public vs in private.
Or, at least, maybe not inside an airtight sealed metal plane?
Alright — I’ll spill the beans.
No, the topic at hand was not flatulence.
(Could that word BE any funnier??? I honestly think that might be funnier than just saying FART. I have a hunch that if I taught that word as a replacement to my 6 year old son, he could appear more well-mannered in public without loosing any of the humor!)
My grandmother would be appalled how far I am taking this story, but I have a feeling she’d be giggling on the inside right along with my 6 year old son.
It all went down when Zavier Torrence was right in the middle of a flight back home to Florida after Thanksgiving.
Unfortunately, someone on his plane didn’t grow up with a School Principal for a grandmother who knew all the keys to avoiding faux pas in public places.
Somebody, in fact, had a hankering for Tuna. But not just tuna.
Warm tuna — on a plane, in an enclosed space, with hundreds of people onboard.
Somebody had a hankering for Tuna on a plane packed with weary travelers, and rather than listening to that small voice whispering, “No, no — think of the others, dear.”
This person handed their intrusive thoughts a megaphone… and ordered a tuna melt.
And by the time that faux pas had drifted to every nook and cranny, interrupting the inflight movie, and causing all manner of nasal distress…
Zavier Torrence did what any reasonable, levelheaded American in such a situation would do: he pulled out his phone and created the next 5 second viral video for our social media enjoyment.
@zaviertorrence Because why are we eating a TUNA MELT on a flight?!? #flying #relatable #travel #traveltok
But as these things go, sometimes the reactions are just as viral-worthy as the video itself!
And as the New York Post relates in the following story, there were some very good reactions — including a debate about whether or not jail time should, or should not be considered a fitting punishment for the evildoer in question.
“[I] strongly believe that people who eat on flights need to be incarcerated for 10 days,” Zavier Torrence wrote on TikTok of a fellow passenger’s controversial meal choice on a Delta flight to Tampa, Florida.
In the 5-second clip, uploaded on Dec. 2, Torrence covered his nose from the strong scent that took over the plane.
“Why are we eating a tuna melt on a flight?!?” he captioned the viral clip with over 706,000 views.
The Florida resident didn’t point out who the tuna lover was but said he wished they opted out of eating it during the flight.
Many travelers resonated with Torrence’s disgust in the fishy meal, while others believe people should eat as long as it doesn’t carry a smell.
“I have a 10-hour flight coming up…you expect people not to eat during a flight?” questioned one woman.
“Hell yeah, I’m eating. Just not a tuna melt,” admitted another.
“Tuna on a plane is crazy, but they can eat whatever they want,” one watcher chimed in.
“Fish of any kind on a plane is diabolical,” commented one person.
“Imma eat, but like Cheez-Its or jerky. I’m so self-aware on planes I could never,” confessed a traveler.
“Scented food is a crime, what do you mean a tuna melt?” demanded a TikToker.
ADVERTISEMENTHowever, some passengers didn’t seem to care about flight etiquette and chose to eat whatever their appetite deserved.
Previously reported by The Post, a female flyer experienced the ultimate inflight faux pas after witnessing her seatmate devour a can of tuna in the air. She detailed the flying fish incident in a TikTok video with over 1.2 million views.
“Canned tuna on the plane gotta be up there in terms of crimes against humanity,” lamented the TikTokker, named Ally, in the caption.
She was reportedly flying from Anchorage, Alaska to Seattle, Washington, when her neighbor opened a can of tuna 10 minutes into the flight, per a follow-up clip.
“I catch it out of the corner of my eye and I’m like ‘That better not be what I think it is,’” she said, but unfortunately it was.
And I just so happen to have Ally’s viral tuna video as related in the New York Post story above.
But a word of caution; canned tuna must be even worse than a tuna melt in reality, because the language is rough. (My School Principal grandmother would certainly not approve of this video — you’ve been warned.)
@allyjaksen @Bumble Bee Seafoods ♬ oh my god bruh oh hell na man
Fox News got in on the action after Torrence’s more recent video, highlighting the discussion surrounding possible jail time that should or should not be associated with such a naughty faux pas as an inflight tuna melt, among other hilarious comments.
Zavier Torrence, 25, told Fox News Digital he was on the second leg of his trip from West Virginia to Tampa, Florida, about a week ago when someone in the seat behind him decided to eat a tuna melt – “and it was stinking up the whole entire plane.”
Torrence didn’t say anything to the passenger who opted for the toasted fish sandwich — but he did share thoughts with his TikTok followers.
“Because why are we eating a tuna melt on a flight?!?” Torrence wrote in the caption of his 5-second video, which showed him covering his nose to shield the strong scent.
The video had more than 713,000 views as of Friday afternoon.
“I honestly did not expect the video to blow up the way it did,” Torrence said.
The popularity of his post might have had something to do with the text he wrote on the video, which said, “Strongly believe that people who eat on flights need to be incarcerated for 10 days.”
Several commenters took umbrage with Torrence’s post.
“I have a 10-hour flight coming up … You expect people not to eat during a flight?” one person wrote.
Others said they would eat on a plane, but not a tuna melt.
“It’s office rules,” another person wrote. “Only eat food that is not fragrant, so no fish, no fried items etc. How do we not know this?”
Torrence clarified to Fox News Digital that he doesn’t believe people shouldn’t eat on planes.
“If you’re hungry, eat,” he said.
Rather, said Torrence, they should consider what they’re eating.
“I mean, it’s tuna,” he said.
“At least have common decency.”
Ah — common decency.
I’m with Torrence on this one, but I know what my grandmother would say.
If you can smuggle it to the bathroom, in private, and somehow dampen the radiating stink of that warm tuna from offensively assaulting the nostrils of poor, innocent bystanders trapped within the confines of your biological attack — okay, have at it.
Tuna melt 'stinking up' plane prompts fellow passenger's viral video https://t.co/kpzuyjlpPG
— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 7, 2024
Otherwise, just stick with the tuna salad! You can still hit those macros without hitting everyone’s sensitivities at the same time.
But don’t you dare leave it sitting on your tray with that shade panel open, slowly warming to a fragrant faux pas — or it’s straight to the slammer for you.
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