Usually get my best writing done on a plane, and as a matter of fact, I’m starting to think that’s where I get my best material too…Â
Leaving Houston a couple weeks ago, we had a flight scheduled for 12:15pm. The flight was originally delayed because of mechanical issues, and at about 12:30pm, they decided they were going to change our gate and plane. We had a new departure time of 1:00pm and efficiently and effectively boarded the new plane. Just as we were pushing back, a storm hit and lightning surrounded the area and closed the airport.
On the plane, several people sighed and moaned as the pilot updated the situation every 15 minutes…
The guy in front of me whined:Â
“My entire vacation is RUINED!!!”Â
The woman to my left was on the phone with a United representative trying to figure out what to do because she was now going to miss her connection…Â
“This is a joke! Who do I call or where do I go to file an official complaint?” (In the bitchiest voice possible)Â
By the time we got into the 2 o’clock hour, several people got up and demanded to get off the plane. The crew eventually obliged and at least 50 of the about 200 passengers stormed off (pun intended).Â
Look, I don’t blame any of the people who wanted to get off the plane… It’s not necessarily the most comforting environment and we had no idea how long we would be delayed. Yet, the thought and idea that your vacation was ruined because of a delayed flight is f*cking ridiculous, and as far as the chick that wants to file an official complaint, I would love to see how that one would go…
“Um… I want to file a complaint because you guys changed my airplane when you figured out there was a mechanical issue… And then after you got us a new plane within 15 minutes you wouldn’t let us take off after they closed the Houston airport… How dare you guys!?!?!”Â
We all want to get to a place on time and we all have feelings of frustration when we deal with unforeseen circumstances outside of our control…Â
Yet in between the stimulus and the response is a space of time where we deal with the emotions of the feelings and analytically try to process what has happened… When we have a sufficient amount of time, we typically are able to control our emotions and logically plan our response free of the instinctual over the top f*ck you, f*ck me, f*ck everybody knee jerk reaction…Â
Next time we get into that special space, let’s recognize it and become aware of the process that will eventually help propel us FORWARD…Â
Ironically, as soon as all of the people bitching got their ass off the plane, the sky’s parted, the airport opened back up and we were on our way…Â
Coincidence 🤷‍♂️Â
-EB