Flying home for Christmas

 

I was looking forward to spending Christmas in Phoenix with my family. I had a break in my residency in clinical pastoral education at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in D.C.

 

When I arrived at the airport, I found my flight was cancelled. I waited in line with hundreds of others. My hopes faded when the attendant behind the counter looked like a high school student filling in during his holiday break. When I explained my situation, he suggested an alternate route.

 

He told me there was a flight ready to go to Pittsburgh. From there , I could take a flight going to Los Angeles. But my destination was Phoenix. He explained the LA flight would have to refuel in Phoenix due to headwinds and I could get off the plane there. My instructions were to tell the crew when I boarded in Pittsburgh I was the one to be let off in Phoenix.

Anything that would get me out of Washington D.C. today was worth the try, so on to Pittsburgh it was.

 

I explained my situation to the flight attendant on boarding in Pittsburgh. She said she would let the pilot know but told me this plane was going directly to LA. I took my seat.

 

When we were almost ready for takeoff, the captain announced over the PA, “Would the guy who thinks he is going to Phoenix please come forward.”All eyes were on me as I walked to the front of the cabin. Everyone had a good laugh at my expense.

The crew was adamant. They were not stopping in Phoenix, but I could go to LA and then get a flight back to Phoenix. I agreed to do so and again I took my seat.

 

Everyone settled down for a quiet flight. Well into the night, the captain came on the PA with an apology for disturbing everyone’s sleep. He announced he had good news for one passenger and bad news for everybody else. Fuel was low because of headwinds, so we were stopping to refuel in Phoenix.

 

I wanted to gloat but held my reaction to a smug grin. In Phoenix, we parked out on the tarmac. The rear stairs were lowered and I was taken to the terminal in a service truck.

I’ve never found a logical explanation for how the young counter worker in Washington knew the plane would have to refuel when the flight crew was certain it would not.

 

That leaves the illogical, the mysterious.

After all, it was Christmas. Was he an angel? I’ll never know.

 

Gerald Knighton,
retired Air Force chaplain
Slidell, La.