Airport Lessons
I just returned from Idaho after spending two weeks with my daughter and her family. Traveling from PA to Idaho is an all day affair, but I have learned to like airports—not for the two hour wait before boarding planes or the fast food that I eat between connections, but because they are the means by which I get to a place I love (to see my grandchildren) and I watch people and learn lessons in airports. This trip was no exception.
As I waited in the boarding area in Atlanta, I took a seat and propped my carry-on bag on the seat next to me. About thirty minutes later, a woman approached and stood directly in front of my seat. She didn’t say a word, but her body language told me, that despite other vacant seats, she wanted to sit in the seat that held my carry-on. I moved my bag to the floor and she assumed ownership of our small area. I noted that her tote bag read, “Live Your Best Life Now.” Apparently that included choosing a seat that she really wanted! She sat for about a minute, then bolted up and left her sweater on the seat to “reserve” her spot. When she returned with a beverage, she ate a few bites of her Chinese food then packed up her food when boarding was announced. You guessed it-- she was the first in line and traveling first class.
About twenty minutes before landing, the pilot announced that our aircraft was carrying the body of a fallen airman. He asked us to remain in our seats while two airmen accompanying the body could deplane and fulfill their military role of respect and honor. When I eventually deplaned, I saw a crowd gathered at a window. I walked over and watched airport personnel move a flag draped coffin from our plane to a hearse. Military saluted on the ground; fellow male passengers at the window wept, young girls’ eyes filled with tears, tears rolled down my cheeks and I felt a lump in my throat. You could hear a pin drop, but the unspoken words were understood as strangers watched and wondered. I could almost see the words on the coffin, “I gave my best life now.”
Yes, airports teach me a lot. This time I was reminded about one man’s giving and living your best life-- and a woman’s misguided perspective about how not to.
Reflection: Read Philippians 2:5-8 for a vivid picture of giving and living your best life. Are you givng and living your best life today? What does that practically mean for you?
(c) Marilyn Nutter 2007
