Watch this:
(Click HERE if you don't see it above )
Forget for a moment that whoever videod this held their phone portrait-style, and that there should be a law declaring landscape as the only acceptable method.
Forget that and focus on the fact that this is awesome. Obviously this woman - Marty, I think is her name - had gone to the trouble to not only write a highly humorous adaptation, but memorize it. Then she had the gumption to actually deliver it on this flight (and, one presumes, many others) with the deadpan precision of a seasoned comedian.
This is awesome, friends. And not because it's what a flight attendant typically does, but precisely because it's not. There is an FAA-approved script that all flight attendants are required to give before the plane takes off, and that would've been sufficient. It's pretty much the same no matter what airline you're flying on. She could've simply done that and communicated the needed information required of her employer, one of a dozen or so things to mark off the pre-takeoff checklist.
She also would've bored the passengers to no end and caused them to tune out completely, choosing to focus on their book or magazine or simply gaze out the tiny airplane window. I know this because it's what I experienced on my flights to and from Minneapolis for the NEXT Church Conference a few weeks ago (as pretty much any flight I've been on since I was about ten). I barely remember it even taking place.
But look at these people! They're going to remember this. Their faces are not buried in their books but looking up. They are laughing and smiling. They are paying attention. They even applaud at the end - and who knows, maybe a standing O if they weren't already buckled in. Most of all, they were caught off-guard because this is not something they were expecting. They were expecting the ho-hum safety litany they'd promptly block out. This was a pleasant surprise, and they took notice. They'll get to their destinations and tell their work colleagues about it; tell their spouses and kids around the dinner table that evening.
I am drawn to people who make life memorable. And not for any great accomplishment other than taking the mundane and injecting some life; taking the gray and painting it pastels. They do this, not because they get paid more or because their video will go viral. They do it just because they want to. I'm drawn to people like that; who see every simple act as holy ground. I think of people in my life who have been that for me - teachers, coaches, ministers, friends, even my wife and kids - and therefore have enriched my life far greater than it'd be otherwise. And I want to be more like them myself.
Every moment, sacred space. Every person we meet, there for a reason. Who are some of the people you've happened upon who've brought a little color to the gray of life? Next time you see them, thank them - just as I imagine more than one passenger on this flight thanked Marty as they disembarked. And if you happen to see someone painting life with bold colors and can snag a video of it, feel free to do so. Just remember: landscape, not portrait.
Forget for a moment that whoever videod this held their phone portrait-style, and that there should be a law declaring landscape as the only acceptable method.
Forget that and focus on the fact that this is awesome. Obviously this woman - Marty, I think is her name - had gone to the trouble to not only write a highly humorous adaptation, but memorize it. Then she had the gumption to actually deliver it on this flight (and, one presumes, many others) with the deadpan precision of a seasoned comedian.
This is awesome, friends. And not because it's what a flight attendant typically does, but precisely because it's not. There is an FAA-approved script that all flight attendants are required to give before the plane takes off, and that would've been sufficient. It's pretty much the same no matter what airline you're flying on. She could've simply done that and communicated the needed information required of her employer, one of a dozen or so things to mark off the pre-takeoff checklist.
She also would've bored the passengers to no end and caused them to tune out completely, choosing to focus on their book or magazine or simply gaze out the tiny airplane window. I know this because it's what I experienced on my flights to and from Minneapolis for the NEXT Church Conference a few weeks ago (as pretty much any flight I've been on since I was about ten). I barely remember it even taking place.
But look at these people! They're going to remember this. Their faces are not buried in their books but looking up. They are laughing and smiling. They are paying attention. They even applaud at the end - and who knows, maybe a standing O if they weren't already buckled in. Most of all, they were caught off-guard because this is not something they were expecting. They were expecting the ho-hum safety litany they'd promptly block out. This was a pleasant surprise, and they took notice. They'll get to their destinations and tell their work colleagues about it; tell their spouses and kids around the dinner table that evening.
I am drawn to people who make life memorable. And not for any great accomplishment other than taking the mundane and injecting some life; taking the gray and painting it pastels. They do this, not because they get paid more or because their video will go viral. They do it just because they want to. I'm drawn to people like that; who see every simple act as holy ground. I think of people in my life who have been that for me - teachers, coaches, ministers, friends, even my wife and kids - and therefore have enriched my life far greater than it'd be otherwise. And I want to be more like them myself.
Every moment, sacred space. Every person we meet, there for a reason. Who are some of the people you've happened upon who've brought a little color to the gray of life? Next time you see them, thank them - just as I imagine more than one passenger on this flight thanked Marty as they disembarked. And if you happen to see someone painting life with bold colors and can snag a video of it, feel free to do so. Just remember: landscape, not portrait.
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