Imagine that there's a woman who's been at the eWomen Network Conference for four days. Imagine that this woman (oh heck, let's just call her, oh I don't know.... Dawn maybe) has made some great connections, talked to some incredible people, and is tired beyond belief.
Dawn packs up her table at 12:30 and meets some friends for a quick lunch before going to the airport. By the time she gets to the airport to return her car, it's a tad bit later than she would normally be comfortable with, but she's happy that she won't have to spend too much time waiting at the airport.
She returns the car and jumps in the shuttle that is just leaving the rental car area for the terminal. Such luck! Now she doesn't have to wait for another shuttle!
Dawn's tired, and she's so happy to be going home to see her family. She's been talking nonstop (the trick is getting her to shut up*) and not sleeping nearly as much as she should at a an energy drainer like a conference.
She checks her baggage, and the AirTran customer service representative mentions something about Dawn's flight being delayed for three hours.
Dawn's world sinks. All she wanted to do was to get on the plane and get home as soon as possible. All the boards show the flight being on time, so maybe there's hope.
She walks through security, trying to hold back tears. While waiting at the gate to check the status of her flight, she overhears the other passengers talking about delays. By the time Dawn gets to the flight representative at the gate, she's full blown crying. Yes, storms in Atlanta have prevented the plane from getting to Dallas to take Dawn home to Baltimore.
After days of being on, energy and emotions riding on high, and little sleep, Dawn can't cope. She sits in the hall and sobs. A friendly fellow passenger checks on her, and all Dawn can say is "I just want to get home."
(Don't worry. This story has a happy ending.)
After several calls to Chris and Stacy (did you know Stacy worked in the travel industry?), Dawn ventures back out of the secured area to talk to the counter representatives. A very nice security guard checks on her as the tears are still flowing. (No one can complain about the kindness of strangers in this story.) Can they put her on another flight (American Airlines has three flights from Dallas to Baltimore leaving within a 45-minute period, and they all have empty seats)?
No.
Why not?
We can't control acts of God. We have no control over the weather.
This act of God isn't affecting weather in Dallas or Baltimore.
Nothing we can do.
So you would rather me wait in an airport for 4-5 hours or more than put me on another airline?
Sorry. We can't do that. We'd go out of business.
Yeah, especially since I won't be using your airline again. (Very sad since Dawn was so impressed on the way out. It's not that she doesn't expect problems and delays to occur. The mettle of a company--or person--is measured by how it handles problems.)
Dawn goes back through security and decides that a big-ass drink at TGI Friday's might help matters. Well, a big-ass drink AND chocolate. Cliff, the nice waiter, even cards her when she orders the drink. What a sweet guy! Liar, but sweet.
After the drink and the chocolate, Dawn looks around at the people in the restaurant around her and commiserates with the other passengers. Gerry is also stuck waiting for the flight to Baltimore (and then she has to connect to Dayton. Poor Gerry!). Dawn moves to Gerry's table, and they have a nice conversation about the eWomen Network Conference, flying, and families.
As they leave, Dawn runs into Debbie, her managing director of the Montgomery County chapter of the eWomen Network, and finds out they're on the same flight. After much hugs and yet more connections with two other women who were stranded in the airport, the plane shows up and everyone boards.
The flight lands (after a missed attempt). It takes an hour to get her luggage. Eventually, Dawn gets home (2:30 a.m.), and all is well. Dawn had always known it would be; she just hadn't had the coping mechanisms to go with the flow. Never once did she do a "poor Dawn" or "Why is this happening to me?" As tired as she was, her self-awareness was still on high. No negativity, just an inability to cope.
What do you do when you absolutely can't cope?
(* Compliments of Shrek. When the Princess Fiona first meets Shrek and Donkey, she's surprised that Donkey talks. Shrek replies, "Yeah, it's getting him to shut up that's the trick.")
That's just what happens to me, when I can't cope. It generally results in uncontrollable tears.
Posted by: Word Lily | July 17, 2008 at 08:39 AM
So I guess it's just cry uncontrollably and THEN we get our coping mechanisms back? Sigh. I just don't like that uncontrollable thing.
Posted by: Dawn Goldberg | July 17, 2008 at 09:32 AM
Oh, shoot! I didn't know you were a member of eWomen. I live in the Dallas area. I hope you enjoyed your time here.
Posted by: Meryl K. Evans | July 17, 2008 at 11:40 PM