On the flight from Berlin to New York a strange disturbance is taking place at the rear of the plane. A passenger, an American, is bobbing wildly back and forth in his seat, groaning and crying out. He’s being subdued by several medical personnel, who have commandeered the surrounding seats. One medic sits directly behind him and holds his shoulders in an effort to stabilize him; another sits next to him, keeping a hand on his arm. Other personnel stand around looking anxious, speaking to each other in hushed tones (in German). Every so often the man blurts out, ‘I want to speak to my lawyer!’ or ‘I can’t do it, I can’t do it, I can’t do it!’ He complains that his chest hurts, that he’s in no condition to fly. A female doctor wearing a stethoscope around her neck insists that the man sit still: ‘Sir, I can’t perform an exam if you don’t calm down.’ A few curious passengers sitting farther forward in the aircraft crane their necks to see what the disturbance is behind them; others stand and gawk shamelessly. People around me seem to be gearing up for a long delay. Indeed, a police officer arrives at the scene, speaks to one of the medical attendants, then departs. Will the disturbed passenger be removed from the plane? But then the flight attendants begin making their pre-flight rounds and an announcement states that we’ll be preparing for takeoff. The medical and/or security personnel surrounding the disturbed man don’t budge. The plane departs. I hear a woman behind me murmur (in English), ‘Well, this is going to be a long flight.’ I turn to the woman sitting across the isle from me, and ask her if she knows what’s wrong with the man. She answers that she saw him in the departure lounge before the flight and he seemed completely normal. The female doctor offers the man a tranquilizer, ‘Something to help you calm down, sir.’ He declines – or simply refuses to answer the question, continuing instead his compulsive, rhythmical bobbing motions. The young man sitting next to me says, ‘They should be offering that to the whole plane.’ During the duration of the entire flight to New York the man does not settle down, and the doctors and/or security personnel surrounding him do not leave their posts. When we finally arrive at the gate and deplane I notice a long queue of security personnel waiting in the gangway to receive the disturbed man. Later, while waiting to be processed by customs, I see him being led (by police) to a private room. He is still, even as he’s being held by the arm, bobbing back and forth and talking to himself.