Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Being Uncool in a Cool World

I love those little inflatable neck pillows for plane rides. They're awesome.

You know the ones I mean. They look awful. Nothing stupider-looking than a grown man, just interrupted from sleep, standing up to let someone out of his aisle, and he's wearing an inflatable pillow around his neck.

Okay, there is one thing stupider-looking. That would be me, on the way home from Kuwait, with a blue inflatable pillow that kept deflating. Once an hour, it would squish down to the point where I'd wake up, and I'd blow it up again and go back to sleep.

I threw that one away and used a different one last night on the flight to Barcelona.

So WHY am I so fond of these pillows?

Your mouth stays shut and your neck doesn't flop over.

But I am careful to take mine off when I stand up.

7 comments:

John Bligh said...

I use one every morning on the bus. I think they're the coolest thing ever.

Marie Javins said...

We may look stupid but at least we get to sleep. And our mouths don't fall open.

Steve Buccellato said...

I'm rather fond of the "Bucky," which is filled with little buckwheat thingies, instead of air. Not as easy to carry as the inflatable pillow, but cozier, IMHO.

Just as stupid-looking, though.

Anonymous said...

I use the bucky gusto (or something like that) when i travel. It's not pretty but it WORK!

Ed Ward said...

Better buckwheat for neck pillows than head pillows, as any Westerner visiting Japan knows. Ow!

(Word verification: cophips. Something I wouldn't wish on anyone!)

Amanda Castleman said...

The TravelSmart ones (black velveteen) leak like bastards. Lewis and Clark's grey models are WAAAAY better. I know this because I own at least six. LOVE 'em...

Marie Javins said...

Ax, BINGO! The leaky one was black velveteen. The one I have now is gray. So there you go, we are all coming out here as uncool pillow advocates. Viva la dopey pillow!