Today was supposed to be another travel day. I got my ride to the airport from a good friend, checked in, went through security, and waited patiently at my gate. After about 15 minutes of waiting, I heard one of the attendants come on and announce one of my favorite reasons for flying Delta, “Passengers we have overbooked our flight today and we are asking for any volunteers to give up their seat on the plane. They will be rewarded with a new itinerary and a $500 voucher to go towards any other flight on a future date.” I jumped out of my seat and was the first person in line. I don’t know why everyone wasn’t as excited about this as I was, but this is gold when you travel regularly.
So I when I made my way to the front of the line, I could tell it hadn’t been the easiest day for our girls behind the counter. People were still talking very loudly over me about the service and how this always happens with Delta. I’m pretty sure one of the guys even said something along the lines of, “They better not bump me off this flight or this company will be sorry.” Empty threats always make me laugh.
Vanessa was finally able to give her full focus to me and asked me if I was having a problem with the service today. I told her not at all, I was just there for my voucher and then I’d be off to wait in the lounge. She just took a huge breath, smiled, and thanked me a ton for giving up my seat. It was hard for me to see it as too much of a sacrifice with $500 in my pocket and a free night at The Holiday Inn, but I guess I had a different outlook. It took Vanessa nearly 30 minutes to process my transaction because she kept hitting the wrong button. But when all the rest of the passengers that I would’ve flown with had boarded the plane, she was all of a sudden finished with everything. Which begs the question, was she really hitting the wrong button accidentally?
She apologized for taking so long and for the fact that I had lost my seat, but that wasn’t a big issue for me at all. I asked her is she was used to that kind of treatment on a daily basis, and she just laughed and told me her skin had gotten a little thicker over the last couple of months working there. We joked about how the airport and flying and general tends to bring the worst out in people. It’s probably a combination of fear and unmet expectations, but it’s very rare to meet someone that works at an airport who hasn’t been yelled at regularly. It’s pretty sad, but the unfortunate truth.
I ended up hanging around the counter for a little while because, let’s face it, I didn’t really have anywhere to go for a while. We just had some small talk for a while and traded horror stories of airport experiences and the horrible meltdowns we had seen. It was fun because we were able to share those stories through laughter and I’m sure that’s not normally the case for Vanessa and the other girls that work with her. I decided it was finally my time to go, and I felt like they needed a heartfelt thank you. After all, they had just set me up in a hotel, given me a huge voucher, given me a stipend to pay for my food, and handled all the logistics for me to still get to Phoenix. So I told them how gracious I was. It was very clear they hadn’t heard that very often, and I’m fairly certain Vanessa was near tears. I kind of joked with her about them, and she quickly toughened up and laughed them off.
One thing I’ve learned from this blog that I continually share with people is how easy being a missionary can be. As I was thanking them I was able to tell them that the reason I didn’t get angry and was so quick to volunteer (despite the vouchers) was that my time wasn’t my own. I don’t have such a tight grip on my life and my time that I can’t allow for minor interruptions. That’s all today was for me. It wasn’t a big deal. I have a peace in my life that I want to share with others, and today was another simple example of it. The only difference is that up until now, I kept that little bit of peace to myself and kept my mouth shut, not knowing that sharing it is what makes it truly grow. I was able to share a little of that peace today, and that peace isn’t fleeting. It’s growing because I know this life and it’s minor interruptions isn’t what I’m living for.
