Sipping Coffee

I’ve watched newsclips and heard stories of people getting in arguments and even worse, violence spurred by disagreements over Covid19 protocols.  I watch and wonder why people behave that way. I mean, we’re all human beings just trying to do our best, right?  I don’t get it. We don’t have to agree or share the same viewpoints, but I believe everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and respect.

All that being said, I had a weird thing happen to me. Let me explain…

It’s 7:30 am.  We’re in the San Jose airport and just boarded Alaskan Airlines, flight 149 to Kona, Hawaii. We’ve flown Alaskan back and forth from California to Kona for the last three years—it’s my favorite airline. I’m what you call a “MVP Gold Club Member” which just means that I fly a lot and there are certain perks that come with that—free drinks, free upgrades, etc. It’s pretty cool. My experience with this airline has always been great.

On to the story…

My husband and I board the plane, secure our carry-on luggage in the overhead compartment, back packs are stowed underneath our seat, masks are on, seat belts buckled, Covid19 bands (that prove we tested negative) are on our wrists, vaccine cards in hand, and we’re settling in for the five-hour flight to the islands.

The plane is full today, which is different than what I’ve experienced in the last year of my travels.  I’ve been one of twenty people on the entire plane and walked through airports that looked eerily like a ghost town. I’ve had to get water out of a vending machine because there was nothing open—not one restaurant or bar in the entire airport.  But that’s not the case today. Today there are long lines, and the place is packed with people.  Every restaurant is full, and travelers are busy chatting, eating, and rushing to their gates. While I don’t like crowds, seeing people living life like this gives me hope, and makes me feel like the worst of this pandemic is finally behind us.

Before boarding, my husband, bless his heart, stood in line for thirty minutes to get us both a cup of coffee. We’ve been up since 4:00 a.m. and I needed some caffeine. As the plane gets ready for take-off, the flight attendant starts going through his exit strategy for emergency landing—explaining what to do, how to access the safety equipment, and so forth. No disrespect intended, but I’ve heard the speech a gazillion times and don’t care to hear it again, so I put my headphones in and turn my music up.  I pull my mask down and take a sip of my coffee.  It’s delicious. I continue sipping my drink and enjoying my music when a flight attendant comes to our row glaring at me like I just insulted her intelligence or something. I put my coffee down and remove my earbuds just in time to hear her scolding voice. “Ma’am, you’re going to need to put your mask on. This is the second time you’ve been talked to about this and if you don’t put it on we’ll have you escorted off the plane.” I look at her in disbelief. Wait, what? I quickly respond, “No one has talked to me about anything” and then my husband pipes in “No one has said a word to us”. The attendant seems to stumble a bit, mumbles something I can’t make out, repeats that I need to put on my mask and walks away before I can take in what just happened. I look at my husband, he looks at me, and we’re both in shock. Within seconds our plane is in the sky.

Let me tell you, five years ago I would have told her off, and even though the venom was sitting on the tip of my tongue, I held it in. As much as I wanted to give her a piece of my mind, I didn’t do it.  I’m walking with Jesus now, and I need to think this through. I know better than to react in anger.  But it was hard not to. Really hard.

I replay her words in my head “or we’ll have you escorted from the plane”. I still can’t believe it.  I picture my family reacting to the news and laugh because I can almost read their minds—10% worry, 90% excitement to hear what happened. Ha! I mean, I was just sipping my coffee! Everything about the encounter felt wrong, unnecessary, and totally out of line.  And, for the record, I’m a rule follower. I love rules.

I stew about being called out by the flight attendant for a good ten minutes, secretly hoping she’ll come back for round two with me.  But she doesn’t. Quite the contrary.  The next interaction was her offering refreshments—she was kind and polite.

I need a distraction and decide to read—side note, if you haven’t read “Between a Rock and a Hard Place” by Aron Ralston, you totally should.  So good.

As the next three hours pass, God works on my heart. 

I think about the media and how they fill our screens with fear and hype— stories, videos, and images of hate and violence are poured into our minds until we’re drenched in it. I don’t like it. I feel like it provokes people and we become less tolerant when we’re out interacting in the real world.

I look at this flight attendant and wonder—has she been mistreated? It occurs to me that perhaps she’s lost a loved one to COVID. Is she struggling today? Is she weary from life? I think about what it must be like to work on the airlines during this pandemic, and I know it cannot be easy. Tensions are high for travelers— I can only imagine what that might be like for the airline staff. I ponder different scenarios in my head as our plane begins to descend to the runaway, and we finally arrive in Kona. I don’t want to let this go, and plan to talk to her on my way off the plane, but my heart quickly shifts, and I don’t confront her—I pray for her instead. 

I am not one to back away from conflict—I typically approach it head on.  But this felt different. This is the year of COVID19—a year full of nothing making any sense. I took a deep breath, waited, and then God changed my heart, and I’m grateful for it. Today I exited the plane peacefully, and let it go. There was no anger left at all, just compassion for another human being that was likely having a rough day.  It would have been easy to react in anger—instinctive even. I recognize that sometimes doing the right thing takes more effort and self-control, and I’m here for it. I’m all about it.

When we landed and got to our place, I called my family to let them know we made it safely and mentioned what had happened on the plane. They reacted like I thought they would; shock, a few questions, then laughter that it happened to me of all people.  I think they were surprised I didn’t react stronger. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised too. But I’m proud of myself. I know I did the right thing. I can’t help but wonder that if, whenever possible, we took some time to think things through before reacting, the world might be a bit more peaceful. Maybe not, but I like to think it would be

Discernment and compassion, that’s my grateful hallelujah today. And to that flight attendant, I really hope you’re ok—blessings to you.