Last time I flew (SWA) I had a SWA gate attendant spot me standing with my cane. I was told I'd could pre-board (we had low B numbers). I declined because I don't consider myself handicapped or slow walking, my hip is worn out and overdue for replacement. I don't have a Handicapped Card in my car either because there are folks much worse off than me.
Back side of the story, before we left the gate one of the flight attendants saw me sitting there with the cane and said I needed to put the cane in the overhead bin. He did it for me. When we landed, my cane was at the very deepest part of the now empty bin. I'm 5'9" and couldn't reach it. So bad hip and old body I had to stand on the seat to reach my cane, holding up the passengers behind me. It was also the first time I encountered a passenger sitting by themselves in an aisle seat and refusing to let me and my wife sit in the row. She acted like she couldn't get her seatbelt off, so we moved further back. Later I realized she was saving the seats.
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