FIGHT BACK : DIRTY DIAPERS ARE MATTER OF COURTESY, PUBLIC HEALTH.

Byline: David Horowitz 

It's hard to find a public place that doesn't provide special diapering areas for youngsters, usually in restrooms, so parents can comfortably do the job and properly discard of the soiled diaper in a sealed plastic bag and special trash can.

Diaper stations are set aside for privacy and sanitary reasons. They usually have a pull-down table and, in some cases, will even provide a diaper in an emergency.

On a recent trip to a warehouse store that has diapering areas in the restrooms, a parent in the crowded food court put her infant on a table and changed a soiled diaper in the middle of the lunch hour in front of diners. It was a disgusting display of poor taste.

Then, the young child sat in a baby carrier cooing on the table with the mother, who then ate a sandwich the grandma had brought over after she had wrapped the soiled diaper in napkins and placed it on the edge of the table. I tried to eat my lunch, but I was outraged at the lack of sensibility the woman displayed. I politely asked the infant's mother if she could do the diapering elsewhere and trash the stenchy, soiled diaper. She ignored me with one of those annoyed looks. So, I reported the incident to the store manager.

He arrived after they left. The diaper was left on the table. This is more than a question of good manners. That soiled diaper in the eating area could have spread all kinds of bacteria if it was improperly handled.

The incident underscored the dangers of contamination from E. coli and other microbes, and how it takes everyone doing their part to prevent illness and just use common sense.

High anxiety

Now it's time for more mile-high anger where ``technical airline sloppiness'' is not life-threatening, but infuriating.

I was momentarily elated when I found out I was about to fly on one of United Airlines' new plush 767s. Everything looked great inside the cabin on the ground, but at cruising altitude, the problems started to come to ``light.'' First, there was an unannounced ``light show.'' I turned on my reading light and it quickly went off, then on, then off like a continuous neon sign outside a movie theater.

The flight attendants couldn't find out what caused the problem. The cockpit crew finally ordered the seat light control board turned off.

But the annoying ordeal wasn't over yet! I tried to adjust the lumbar, or lower back support, in my seat. It worked for about 30 seconds, then the control went berserk. It continuously kept adjusting and readjusting like a track carnival ride. My seat was finally unplugged before I turned green from motion sickness.

The final chapter in this comedy was when the door to the bathroom I occupied didn't lock from the inside. When I was using it, unbeknownst to me, the ``occupied'' light didn't flash on, so passengers kept opening the door. A sharp flight attendant found the solution. A hastily written note was taped to the door explaining that the door didn't lock. I'm glad the pen worked. Who does the maintenance on these planes?

Send me your ``high anxiety'' airline complaints at www.fightback.com.