THANK YOU

Fort Lauderdale to JFK on the eve of Hurricane Sandy
October 28th, 2012
Heather McKeown
JFK-Inflight


It was with ominous predictions and trepidation that we loaded up 135 souls. It was to be a two hour, eleven minute flight to JFK but the mood of the crew wasn't good. Bad moods are contagious and I wasn't happy that we were leaving a nice, safe place to beat a hurricane into New York. I know we wouldn't have gone if danger was a presence, but I faced the inevitability of spending the duration of the storm in a Queens, New York crashpad. All my housemates had been stranded in various comfortable crew hotels around the country or found their way to safe, out of state locations, and I feared a dark few days. The possibilities at my apartment included: power failures, no gym, no laundromat, no transportation, no internet or cell phone service and, maybe, no hot showers! Leaving Fort Lauderdale, where crew lodging is superior, seemed like an unnecessary sentence of imprisonment to me. It may have been the very first time that I didn't want to fly. So,maybe I felt grumpy. Really grumpy!

        Boarding commenced. The first people to board were the wheelchair customers. Each was perfectly coiffed, made up, dressed to perfection and polite in the extreme. The frail elderly often abound with beauty and distinction, grace and an elegance untouched by most in my generation.
“Oh, Dear, I am so glad you're taking me home!” and “Bless your airline for getting me back home!” were the greetings given as I walked them to their assigned seats.

        The onslaught of travelers continued for the next twenty minutes. How a person can be transformed from grumpy to elated in the passage of minutes should be counted among the Wonders of the World. We who work in the service industry are wont to be the generators of peace among men, if we're doing our jobs well, but what happens if you start the day with your power turned off and you just can't start your own engine? There are a couple of choices, if you find yourself without any forward thrust in the happiness department.

1. Quit. Accept that you're just going to have a miserable day and say to heck with the customers. You decide to do your 'job' and nothing more. You figure you deserve a bad day and, by golly, today's the day you're just going to rise to the minimum of expectations and let the chips fall where they may.*

2. Absorb. Pick up the vibe of the happiest of people and allow the contagion of 'good moods' hit you right in your solar plexus. Allow yourself to 'catch' their wit, positivity, joy, relief, gratitude or excitement as they toss it out for free.

I had no intention of catching a case of bliss before that flight boarded. You see, I'd stopped thinking of 'them' and was obsessing about my own selfish concerns. When the people began the long boarding, almost every single one of them said something great to me as they passed.

“I can't tell you how I love your airline! My motha's 83 and totally alone, ya' know? Oi mean, who's gonna' make sure she's awright durin' dis horricane if it ain't me, oi asks ya'. Tanks fah floi-in tanight.”

“Oh, you! You wah moi stewahdess last week. Remembah us? Well, so much fah the wintah in Faht Loudahdale. The kids. Well, not kids. They-ah in they-ah fahties, arready. It's great they still need they-ah motha and fatha. Whadda ya gonna' do? Tell the truth? We missum arready. Glad ya' got a plane fah us!”

Grabbing my hands, a businesswoman in her thirties says, “My children are in the city and I need to be there! Thank you so much for this flight!”

Everyone had a reason for getting to New York. Each one could have stayed vacationing, conducting business or wintering, yet, something bigger than selfish reasons or ambition motivated them to fly into the eye of the storm. Responsibilities. Love. Worry.
By the time everyone was in their seats, I was in a fabulous mood. The customers had turned ME around and given me such a boost. The New York attitude is a wonderful, tangible entity. I love it so much and it humbled me last night.

        I walked up the aisle a way and announced, “I have something to admit to all of you. Tonight, the last thing I wanted to do was be the last flight into JFK before a hurricane, but, as each of you boarded, with all your gusto, joy, gratitude, relief and desire to GET HOME to be with your families, I started to believe I was about to have the best flight of my life. Thank you very much.”
From take off to landing...it was the best flight of my life.





A happy customer can be as regenerating as any prescribed anti-depressant if taken in large doses with shared laughter as the chaser.

*Blue Chips OR Cheetos, mixed nuts, Pop Corners, animal crackers, chocolate chip cookies...even drinks, if you're feeling especially clumsy on top of being in a bad mood!