RESERVATIONS
Recently, someone stopped by my office, handed me two sheets of paper, and said something to the effect of, "You're always sharing something with people; here's something for you." Then he was gone. Like so many encounters we have along life's way, this one was brief. But it left a lasting impression...and brightened my whole day. The article is definitely a "keeper". Originally written by Jonathan Lee for the Washington Post, it is entitled "Reservations of an Airline Agent". I've abbreviated it due to limited space, but the point is unchanged. Enjoy! "I work in the central reservation office of an airline company. After more than 130,000 conversations -- all ending with "Have a nice day and thanks for calling" -- I think it's fair to say I'm a survivor. "I've made it through all the calls from adults who don't know the difference between a.m. and p.m., from mothers of military recruits who didn't trust their little soldiers to get it right, from the woman who wanted advice on how to handle her teenage daughter, from the man who wanted to ride inside the kennel with his dog so he wouldn't have to pay for a seat, from the woman who wanted to know why she had to change clothes on our flight between Chicago and Washington (she was told she'd have to make a change between the two cities) and from the man who asked if I'd like to discuss the existential humanism that emanates from the soul of Habeeb. "My battles have included everything from a man not knowing how to spell the name of the town he was from, to another not recognizing "Iowa" as being a state, to another who thought he had to apply for a foreign passport to fly to West Virginia. "I talked to a woman in Denver who had never heard of Cincinnati, a man in Minneapolis who didn't know there was more than one city in the South ("wherever the South is"), and a man in Dallas who tried to pay for his ticket by sticking quarters in the pay phone he was calling from. "A woman wanted to fly to Hippopotamus, NY. After assuring her there was no such city, she became irate and said it was a big city with a big airport. I asked if Hippopotamus was near Albany or Syracuse. It wasn't. Then I asked if it was near Buffalo. 'Buffalo!' she said, "I knew it was a big animal". "Then a man tried to catch our flight to Maconga. I told him I'd never heard of Maconga and we certainly didn't fly to it. But he insisted we did and to prove it he showed me his ticket: Macon, GA. "Half (of the people) will not have thought about when they're returning. A third won't know where they are going; 10 percent won't care where they're going. A few won't care if they get back. "You just have to shake your head in amazement! But it reminds me of a time when Jesus talked with his apostles about a trip he was taking. As I recall, there was a lot of confusion about that trip as well. "'I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.' Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way?' (John 14:2b-5) "With all the patience of an airline ticket agent, Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'." (John 14:6) "What a glorious trip lies ahead. I hope you've made your reservations!" Amen, and blessings on your journey.
CAPT J. David Atwater, CHC, USN
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