Holiday cheer

I don’t know why I get surprised about other people’s lack of manners. I have no manners. But sometimes, I’m surprised. Went to see Life Aquatic at the Sony on 68th Street, which is the craziest theater in all the land (I heard somewhere it was the busiest/ highest grossing Cineplex in America.) 2:00 on a Sunday, the show was sold out, and my sister and I got there at like 1:55. We’re looking for seats in the side section and ask these two middle aged ladies if the seats next to them are taken, as the coats on them would imply. No. The coats belong to the people sitting behind the empty seats. I’m sorry, it’s a sold out show, someone is going to sit in front of you. In fact, for trying to have an entirely unobstructed view, you deserve a 7 footer to plop himself smack in your sight path.
That’s only the more egregious manifestation of the coat-save: at a crowded screening you should only put your coat on an extra seat if you’re saving that seat. That way, people won’t have to wander up and down the aisles asking everyone, “is that seat taken?” because they’ll know the coat is not just resting on a seat for its owners comfort.
After the people behind us moved their coats, I scootch past the two ladies. There are 3 seats between the ladies and the wall, but the woman leaves her coat on the seat right next to her, indicating that we should sit in the 2 next to the wall. Because I, apparently, have cooties and she doesn’t want to sit next to anyone. “You only need two, right?” she asks me, even though the seat against the wall is obviously shittier than the one next to her- because of the angle. Plus, it’s a sold out show, so the third seats gets filled within a matter of minutes (by a woman who would not stop laughing really loudly, at everything).