As I jet across the country I've seen people lose their minds over trivial things like not getting an aisle seat, or just missing the upgrade mark. I have even witnessed a grown man morph into a diva when his iPad—that he left on the plane—was lost, and then he kept the gate agents occupied with his commentary as he explained the power of GPS and the Find Your iPad function via the Cloud.
However, once in a blue moon you come across people that restore your faith in the human race.
I recently was in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport with a three plus hour layover. I found a random gate and took a seat. I was checking emails and texting friends to pass the time, and a woman walked to the seat in front of me and put down her bags. She was a pretty black woman, probably in her mid-twenties. She had on a pair of Coach shoes, big shiny jewelry and a set of fake eyelashes. She was looking around for the gate information, and before she even got sat down to wait for her flight she was approached by a courtesy worker (these are the folks that assist wheel-chair passengers and those who may need to pre-board because of a medical reason). "Ima gunna get you a on for pre-board," he told her.
She looked a little surprised because the guy came out of nowhere. As soon as he spoke he headed for the gate agent to make the arrangements. She looked rather stunned, then looked at me and said, "I don't need to pre-board nothing, do I look like I'm in need of assistance?"
"No, you look fine to me," I said back to her and we both kind of chuckled at the eagerness of this middle aged gentleman to help out. Just about then her mother arrived.
"What's going on?" Her mom asked, seeing the stunned look and confusion on her daughter’s face.
"Apparently I need to pre-board," she said with her Texas accent.
“For what? We ain't needing to get on no plane early. What's he thinking?” Mom was just as confused.
"Maybe he's being overly nice," I said with a smile. By this time I was in the conversation whether I wanted to be or not. They got what I was implying.
"Guuurl, I'm a happily married woman,” she said and flashed a gigantic rock. “What's his problem?”
Once the hubbub was over and the eager helper left them both alone we started up a conversation.
The woman and her daughter were headed to Las Vegas for a conference. The mother, Pam, worked a great job as an auditor and she was taking her daughter, Ro, with her. I learned that Ro nearly died about three years ago when she contracted a virus.
"That child's heart was working at only 10 percent and her body was starting to shut down, and they told me to say goodbye—but she's my only one and I wasn’t about to do that,” she told me. I could tell right away that Pam was the poster child for independence and strong-willed.
Ro did recover and moved home where she can still receive treatments for prolonged issues with her heart and where she can have assistance monitoring her medication. Ro told me she worked at the SAH Corporation (Sit At Home) and that two investors kept her business in the black (Mom and Dad). Ro told me she wants to work, and plans to someday, but her medical issues keep her from full-time employment.
"We'll invest as long as we have to," Pam said. "We’re just happy to be able to invest."
As we continued talking I learned that Pam was one neat lady with a great outlook on life. She talked about her nephew, who now goes by Angelique and designs clothes in New York. She also told me how scared she was for her daughter to pick a college in South Carolina.
“It’s just different there,” she said. “I was so worried, but proud of her to have the courage to do it.”
Pam and I had some good laughs as we told stories about working within the Good Ol’ Boys Club. I learned that it’s not all that different. No matter how old you are, what color you are, or the industry you choose, the Club exists. But we both say it is what it is and you can’t let that deter you from the career you want. Neither one of us was beating a drum for all womankind, we simply see the situation as it is and accept it.
And then she told me something that will stick with me, probably forever.
"Girl, I've known you thirty minutes and I can tell by your beautiful personality that you work real hard, and you're a leader. Don’t you let that Club deflate you or your spirit—because someday they'll be answering to you."
I liked Pam.
Pam and Ro were a breath of fresh air.
As their plane began to board I told them it was nice to meet them and as she went to leave she stopped and hugged me.
“I just loved meeting you today,” Pam said.
Yes. A total stranger (and her daughter) hugged me at gate A29 at DFW. It wasn’t the hug that I needed, it was the fresh air after a very stuffy morning.
God knows what you need, and when you need it.
He also knows the right people to send, too.
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