February 6, 2020 - 146 - "Each Flight is Like a Box of Chocolates..."

...they can be dark and bad for you and sometimes involve melt-downs.

Today was a good day.  I worked three flights.  There were weather and air traffic control delays, but overall everyone was nice and it went well.  I really enjoyed my crew, which makes a huge difference in how things go.

    But among the overall goodness of the day, as usual, there were pockets of the unexpected.  (To put it mildly.) .

     There was one call light where a woman explained that she was having an anxiety attack and might have to leave the plane.  In the end she was able to maintain her composure.  She stood by the galley for a long time and I kept her talking while we were delayed getting de-iced. 

    There was a woman who didn't speak English, and I couldn't figure out what language she did speak.  All that was clear was that she wanted to sit in someone else's seat.  It was a better seat than hers,  so I can see why she'd prefer it, ...but the man who'd paid extra for it also wanted to sit there.  Much chaos ensued. 

    We had three armed guards on our first flight.  They were going to pick up a prisoner to escort him back to Dallas.  This piqued my curiosity.   I've never seen three guards.  It's always just two. 

   I'm sure (okay, I like to think) if it was Hannibal Lechter or something they wouldn't carry them on public transportation.  The prisoners usually seem fairly harmless.  When I asked the reason for the extra guard I was told:  "It's a very high profile case."

    When we loaded the next flight to our tablets it turned out that it definitely was.  One word:  Yikes.  It was exactly the kind of story I don't follow, but another flight attendant knew all about the case.  I read a little about him.  Just enough that I couldn't even look at him directly.  Luckily we are not allowed to serve prisoners anything at all.  (So they don't need to go to the bathroom on the flight.)

     Our last flight was to Toronto so, in spite of a lengthy ATC delay, they were very mellow.  As long as there's plenty of ginger ale available...they're pretty much happy campers.

     Still, thse are just a couple of interactions in a day filled with dozens of similar stories.  We get to see glimpses into people's stories every day.  Today it made me think of the Forest Gump comment; "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get."  That pretty much describes every day for me.  Maybe that's why I still like it.  It never gets old. 

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"Every day is a surprise.  There are confirmations of an interconnectivity and synchronicity which inspire, titillate and confirm the inherent comedy of the universe."

-Billy Zane

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