Assigned Seating

There should be a word for one’s instant feeling of allegiance to a seat after sitting down. Whether on a train, in a waiting room, at a restaurant, or on a park bench, making the choice of where to sit frees you up for everything else.

Meryl Streep said that life begins when you make a commitment. Or at least that’s what Anne Hathaway said she said during a recent The Devil Wears Prada 2 interview.

It takes a lot to move: a particularly disruptive neighbor, an unavoidable odor, a natural disaster. Baring such disturbances, we are all too happy to stay in place. Not because it’s special, but because we chose it first.