Business travel – this experience is rarely glamorous. Like some of you, I fly every week. I have seen the cracks of men’s asses, as they reach to untie their shoes at security. I have walked through small, gray clouds of sour smells that come from their shoes… or elsewhere. It can be difficult to tell.
Once in Orlando, I had a very personal item removed from my backpack and held high under a light for inspection by an adolescent TSA official who looked like a Mouseketeer and whose innocence was – to that point – probably still intact.
But for all its non-glamour, I am utterly grateful. In the concourses and terminal of our airports, I have learned many life lessons. On a recent flight home from Washington, D.C., I learned them all in rapid succession.
Changing Course
Flying out of Washington Reagan has always been a roll of the dice. So it was on the Thursday before Christmas. When I checked in at the American Airlines kiosk, I learned that my 8:30 PM flight was delayed… until noon the following day. So I called the trusty Burkhalter after-hours Help Desk, which did exactly what it was supposed to do and got me rerouted on a Northwest flight through Detroit. I would be home 20 minutes earlier than my original flight.
Sometimes in life, you have to change course to make it to your final destination. Your happy ending may be littered with disappointment, a change of course, or a delicious additional loop. Enjoy the ride.
Up, Down, and Up Again
After a 20 minute delay, my plane took off from Washington D.C. for Detroit. I knew I would have to sprint to catch my connection. As I raced to the gate in Detroit, my heart sank. There was no one in the waiting area. I’d missed my flight. I asked an agent to be re-booked. She looked at my boarding pass and said that my flight hadn’t left; it was delayed… until midnight.
At midnight, a sleepy cabin of passengers took their places on-board. We waited. And waited. I was dozing when the captain’s voice came over the intercom. “Ladies and gentleman, air traffic control in Minneapolis has advised us that we cannot take off for Madison. The area is experiencing dense fog, making it unsafe for landing. The fog is expected to be in the area for the next ten hours.”
I would have ten hours - at least - before the next plane took off for Madison.
Life is full of in-between time. How do you spend yours?
Good, Bad, Good, Bad. Repeat.
We deplaned. I would have to stay overnight in Detroit (bad news). But the airport’s Westin had room, and it was only 20 gates away (good news). All of my personal effects were in my checked luggage (bad), but I had my laptop (good) with 36 minutes left on the battery (bad) and my cell phone (good) with a flashing “change battery” light (bad.) No deodorant (very bad.) A toothbrush (yay!), but no toothpaste (blech).
In life, you have to play with the hand you’re dealt. Some is good and some is bad. Why waste energy complaining; just make the most of it.
Asking for Help
When I realized my original flight was not going to work out, I called my travel agent’s after-hours help desk. At the hotel, when I realized I was short of essential toiletries, I requested some from the hotel’s staff. When I realized that I’d left my wedding ring on the bathroom sink in my hotel room before checking out, I called security and asked for help to retrieve it.
Asking for what you need is an essential, humane activity. It’s also a sign of a leader. Leaders know when they’re in over their heads, when their own resourcefulness and initiative will not be enough to carry the day. Leaders are willing to admit when they need help, and are wise enough to ask the appropriate people for assistance.
The Power to Choose
This was the most powerful lesson of all. Flights get delayed. Fog thickens. Pilots drink. Whatchya gonna do? Choose your response. The night I stayed at the Detroit airport’s Westin, I checked in at 1 AM. I stepped up to the registration desk and greeted Justin with a smile. I was resigned to make the most of this. It was a Westin, after all. Behind one of those doors was a heavenly bed… and a minibar. I just needed the keys.
As Justin tucked my keys into their paper sleeve, a white haired gentleman huffed up to the desk. Regina, another hotel employee greeted him “Good evening!” she offered.
“No it’s not,” the man barked. He looked at me and grunted, “I was on that flight to Madison, too.” I sensed that he wanted me to join him in his foul mood.
I didn’t. I smiled at him instead.
Two passengers. Both delayed for the same reason. Both spending the night at the Westin. Each having a starkly different response to the same circumstances. Happiness often lies in our power to choose.
