AN AMBASSADOR
This is me with my baby brothers out in Arizona. It's the first picture I can remember ever being taken of just us kids. I wish we had one with us and Randy, but we'll see him in heaven. It was great to see family, but my aunt Lee was in the hospital the whole time with heart problems, but she's doing better. We flew home on Sunday, and that's where things got, um, tricky. LOL

Ever since I've been a Christian, I've tried to remember the admonishment to be an ambassador for Christ. I realized on our trip just how important the image we project really is. The day started out great. Got up in time, Mark made us a killer breakfast, no traffic on the way to the airport. The security line was a little long but we got back to our gate in plenty of time. Then we saw the board. Estimated departure time: 1:00 pm. Our schedule was to leave at 9:50 a.m. Over 3 hours! I approached the desk and asked if we should try to reschedule for another flight. I had a baby granddaughter to go see, after all. :-) The US Airways agent told me it really shouldn't be that long because they were getting us a different plane. I found a seat with Dave and prepared to wait a bit.

There was a group behind us who were business travelers. One guy was loudly complaining that he got stuck in a middle seat. This had happened even before we got a smaller plane so I'm not sure what the problem was initially unless he didn't get to select his seat because of overbooking. The agent was inundated with irate customers. The one gal, Donna, handled them all with grace and a sweet spirit. I suspected she might be a Christian. After things calmed down, I went up and told her and the others they were doing a great job in such stressful circumstances. When I got back to my seat, I heard one of the other men in the party say, "They wouldn't dare move me because I'm the chairman." I immediately thought about what Jesus would have done. He wouldn't have lorded it over the others in the party because of his stature. He would have given up his seat. The chairman was a smaller man who wouldn't have been nearly as uncomfortable in that middle seat.

The agent changed our gate when they got us a plane. At that gate, the complaining passenger loudly demanded to be moved as well. The agent told him there was nowhere to move him since the plane was actually smaller. We got moved to a different plane and a different gate. He also yelled at that agent and demanded to be moved from the middle seat. By now Dave and I were watching in fascination as the drama continued to escalate with him getting madder and madder. The agent finally agreed to keep his ticket in case there was a cancellation. There wasn't. LOL Every seat was totally full, and as boarding was announced, he stalked back to the counter to snatch his ticket from the agent and take his seat on the plane.

I would like to have thrown a tantrum too. After all, I wasn't going to see Punky on Sunday after all. But the man's behavior was a stark reminder that the world is watching. People can tell a lot about our inner character by watching what we do and say. Now if I can just remember that the next time a plane gets cancelled. LOL

What about you? Is there anything that pushes your buttons that you have to watch? Or is there a situation you are proud of how you acted? Or one in which you aren't so proud and resolved to do better?

Labels: cancelled flight, US Airways