Writer's Outtake, Episode 2 - Lost Mom in Cabin D

From the movie "Airplane"

One of the strangest happenings on one of my flights occurred during a daytime trip from Boston to Los Angeles. Shortly after lunch service was completed, I was standing in first class chatting with a passenger when an anxious-looking flight attendant approached me. "Jim, there's a problem in D-cabin." As I followed her to the second-most rear cabin on the plane, she explained that an elderly lady is upset because she found another elderly lady sitting next to her son.

The lady was waiting for me at the front of D-cabin. She was trembling while pointing down several rows to an elderly lady in an aisle seat beside a man in his forties. "When I came back from the rest room I saw that lady sitting next to my son. She told me she was with her son, and she refused to move." When I escorted the complaining lady to the alleged 'false mother', something akin to an old Abbott and Costello routine ensued for the next several minutes.
The standing mother said, "She's sitting in my seat."
The seated mother replied defensively, "I'm in my own seat."
Futher declarations and pointing continued:
"She's sitting next to my son."
"He's my son."
"She's my mom."
And so on. I began to wonder if the woman standing beside me really had her son on the plane. As a last resort, I could make a 'missing mother' announcement. That could be embarrassing to the woman, especially if she, in fact, had no son on the plane.

Soon, a middle-aged man approached us from the rearmost E-cabin. "Mom, what are you doing up here? You must have passed your seat after going to the rest room." The tearful, relieved mother embraced her son for a moment before they walked back to their assigned seats. It was a touching scene, but I couldn't help but chuckle considering the two sons really didn't resemble each other. The flight continued on without further 'events.' So as you're traveling this holiday season make sure you keep an eye on the kids as well as mom!