- The day my Husband asked me to Marry him
- The day my Son was placed in my arms, the day he was born
- My US Air flight I had today
What do you say, When the passenger sitting next to you, leans over whispers in your ear "I'm a passenger from the US Air "Miracle" flight 1549?
As I was boarding my flight today for New York, The US Air Flight Attendant asked me, "Are you the last one?"... I was.. being a Stand-By passenger we are usually last, that's okay...When trying to get to work, you'll take any seat...
The Flight Attendant leaned in & asked me, "Could you please sit here.." pointing to a First Class seat, I think "SCORE"... Oh no... She had a something up her sleeve...So I traded my row 15 to sit in First Class ......
What would you say to someone who just whispered that in your ear? A million things ran thru my mind & all that came out of my mouth was " I have no idea what to say to you"...Her next words were "Will you hold my hand on Take Off?"... Again, what do you say NO?
As, I held her hand, I thought to myself...Just how would I act, if I had been thru what she had been thru, .. I asked her "Where were you sitting?", She says "In the back" The hairs on the back of my neck were now standing at attention. Our flight was one hour and 20 minutes long & She spoke One hour and 19 minutes of them... She had my undivided attention.
99% of the time while commuting, I read a book or watch the movie and try my best to avoid conversations with passengers, Oh no, not her.. She wanted to talk & I was pretty interested in what she had to say, Think about it, How often do we get to speak to someone who has been in a"Crash" ...."Water Landing?"...
I am going to keep alot of what she told me private, to respect her and what she has been thru... Beside "The Book" is due out in November 2009. The one thing she said that I will share with you that I find very enlightening was: She informed me she went to the NTSB briefings... she was impressed that alot of the NTSB board reps came up and hugged them, I asked "Why did they do that" She said she asked them the same question, their response was: "They always are having to meet and speak with the Family Members of crash victims, It was rare they actually got to MEET with the passengers themselves. WOW, did that hit me right between the eyes...
If I don't remember anything else about US Air flight 1549, I will remember this special lady and her thoughts about being a survivor!
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6 comments:
Wow that is unreal! Yeah it must be a good day when the NTSB folks get to see survivors... :S
You did a kind thing for that poor woman. And it's encouraging to know she's still flying!
Good blog, Shelby. I bet you meet a lot of great people everyday. Today was just proof of that. You did a great thing by keeping her reassured and listening to her talk!
Wow! It is amazing that she was flying again, and good for you for giving her the extra security she needed during take off. I'm sure you heard some amazing things. I always trying and keep to myself while commuting but I have found I sometimes meet the most amazing people on those flights.
I usually keep my nose in a book too...yet every time I end up talking to someone, I'm always glad I did...I'll bet you were glad you did!! Amazing story...I'll bet she was happy to be next to you!
I can't even see pictures of that water landing without my chest swelling up with pride (and no, I have no connection to the industry at all.) It must have been incredibly emotionally overwhelming to actually MEET one of those survivors.
Question though, does she get free First Class upgrades (or seats) now? That would be a sweet gesture on behalf of U.S. Air - and I refuse to even fly U.S. Airways based on the horrible treatment and service I've received time and again from them - so that's a compliment coming from me.
Awesome story.
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