Kindness of Strangers

I am off my airport game. 

I pride myself on having flown fairly frequently. I know my way around an airport. Flying rules, regulations, appropriate time to be there. I have my traditions and rituals. Coffee, people watching, book to read.

This time, however, I was way off my game. I flew to New York with my brother last week and had quite a few misadventures. Nothing huge on the way there - a stray liquid, no time to sit before boarding - but things an amateur would do. 

On the way home, however, was another story. I casually made my way to the airport for my return flight and was shocked when the woman at the American Airlines counter told me I needed to hurry or I was going to miss my flight. wait what. 

Confused, I looked down at the time and briskly walked to the security line. To my horror, I saw it stretched 40 people deep. It sank in I am going to miss this flight. 

There are very few things worse than missing a flight. The hassle and expense, the unknown. To be avoided at all costs. 

Standing there in line, it was this moment where I knew I needed to act fast. If I didn't speak up, I was going to spend all day at JFK. It was a nerve-wracking few minutes, knowing that how my day unfolded depended on quite a few other people. 

So, I spoke up. 
I told the woman in front of me, a French woman who didn't speak much English, that my flight was literally boarding right then and could I go in front of her? She couldn't understand what I was saying, so we sought the women behind me to help translate. They immediately said YES ABSOLUTELY PLEASE GO AHEAD. Their affirmation, their enthusiasm was just so generous. 

Then it became a thing. I moved down the line, person by person, and told them my situation and that I needed their help. And one by one, they let me pass. Not begrudgingly or annoyingly, but joyfully. With empathy, they let me pass. With kindness, each person let me pass. No one questioned why I was late or gave me lecture on being prompt or responsible, but they pleasantly moved aside and urged me forward. There was even one woman who shrieked let this woman go!!!

Kindness created camaraderie in that line. The other passengers became my corner, their kindness really warming my heart. You see, that New York trip wasn't exactly an easy one. My brother was moving to NYC and that trip was to move him in and get him settled into his new home. There was a mix of great excitement, but also my heart felt a little sad. 

The small kindnesses in the airport, the kindness of strangers cheering me on, allowing me to go in front of them, was really meaningful and important to me. A very much needed kindness. It was a moment I needed great empathy. I made my flight that day by the skin on my teeth. Literally, the attendant closed the door right after I ran up there. For real.  

You never know what an act of kindness can do for someone. 
You don't know people's stories, or where people are in each moment.
But we do know that kindness can inspire and encourage, can warm and move forward. Kindness without questions asked, kindness without an explanation needed, is an incredibly valuable commodity that should be given away freely. 

Thank you, airport people!