Even during serious times, we need to smile! Let me share my story about making people smile during a crisis!
50 days after 9/11, I was finishing up three days of client work in Indianapolis. I had been in Indy 3-4 days a week since early July and that is where I was when the two towers went down on that fateful day. Since all the planes were grounded, I didn’t know how I was going to get home. My boss had called and told me that safety was his number one concern and that whatever it took for me to get back home with my loved ones was going to be covered by the company. With high hopes of driving the 10 hours back to Minnesota, I called the car rental places only to hear that they were out of cars.
A friend gave me a ride to the airport with my luggage in hand where I wandered from car rental counter to car rental counter begging for a car. Finally, one manager took pity on me and let me rent a car that would need to be driven back to Indy, and the rental fees would accumulate for every day it was gone, whether it sat in my driveway or whether it was being driven. I didn’t know when I would be going back to Indy, but at that point I didn’t care.
For some reason, I thought it was important to have real cash with me instead of just my credit cards. Sadly, I stopped by several cash machines only to find they had run out of cash. I was not the only person freaking out about having real money to use.
I had a cell phone, but this was 19 years ago, and not every phone or car came with GPS, so I was going to figure out how to drive back to Minnesota from Indiana on my own. Fortunately, my dad was a retired truck driver and was able to guide me through that trip because he knew every rest area, cheap gas stop, good restaurant and stop on the route home. The phone was my connection to home. At some point, I couldn’t listen to the radio any longer. It was all news and none of it was good. News reports/ talk shows were filled with anger, fear, and speculation. Many of the music stations had stopped playing music and were all talk. I listened to the same 5 CDs over and over again on that drive.
When I hit Chicago, my route took me past O’Hare. It looked like planes had literally dropped from the sky and found any open space they could to park their plane. It was eerie! Then as night crept in, I began to notice the absence of plane lights in the sky. There was a feeling of uncertainty about what had just happened and what it meant for how life would be lived moving forward.
After 12 hours (Chicago at rush hour and road construction) I pulled into my driveway. I remember getting out of my car and dropping to my knees on the front lawn as I tearfully gave thanks to God that I was home. It was 2:30 a.m. and I couldn’t sleep. At that point in time, I didn’t think that home had ever felt so good!
Fast forward two weeks, and flights are back in the air, so it was time for me to drive back to Indy, work for a few days and then fly home. The date? October 31, 2001 – Halloween!
I LOVE Halloween! Everything about the holiday delights me, but my favorite part is that I get to dress up. I married a guy that is perfectly happy to wear whatever costume I put him in and play the part he is asked to play. Missing Halloween – handing out candy in a costume from my front porch – is not an option.
Remember that I was doing consulting work. I simply explained to the client that I would need to work Monday through Wednesday that week and would be flying home Thursday afternoon so that I could be home for Halloween. Agreed!! As a matter of fact, my project team was having a costume contest at noon that day. I stayed long enough to consume some potluck and win the costume contest and then I headed for the airport.
In 2001, I was dressed as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I had the braids, the blue gingham dress, the ruby red slippers, the picnic basket AND a stuffed Toto. Several people had great concern about my wearing a costume on a flight so close to the 9/11 attack. Airport security had already changed, and there was a new level of filters put in place to investigate who could get on a plane safely and who needed to be held back and questioned. My friends and co-workers were very worried that traveling in my costume was going to make me seem like a threat or like someone who wasn’t taking the proper attitude about flight security. I told them that I was willing to take the chance of being detained if they thought my ruby red slippers or dog in a picnic basket were suspicious.
Guess what? It was the best airport experience of my life. I can’t begin to tell you how many people (airport security, flight attendants, pilots, airport employees, other travelers) said “thank you” for brightening their day, putting a smile on their face, making them forget about how scared or angry they were for a few minutes!
Yes, I took a chance. I might have been detained at the gate or at security. I might have had to turn over my costume and Toto. I might have had to change into my other clothes to fly home. I might have had some people yell at me or give me dirty looks. If we had social media, I might have had my picture taken so that people could post it and publicly shame me. Those were all chances I was willing to take.
Why bring it up now? Because we are in serious times. Everyone has lost something – a loved one, health, their business, income, security, privacy, connection – just to name a few. Yet, we can’t be serious and downtrodden 24/7. It’s okay to laugh! It’s okay to watch a comedy or post a funny video. My daughter bought a blow-up dinosaur costume and has named her #socialdistancingdinosaur. Every day she does something funny in her dino costume that is super safe and super funny. Some people have said “we have to take it seriously” and are not amused. They have nominated themselves as the amusement police and are out to stomp out anything that could bring joy or a smile to someone’s face! There are many times in life when we all need to forget about our troubles for a minute or two and lighten up. I hope you are taking advantage of those moments of light in your life now and that you are taking the time to bring a little smile to someone else’s face!
You are in my thoughts and prayers everyday – all of mankind is. This is a big thing to try and tackle on our own, so having some heavenly guidance and comfort is welcomed! We humans are pretty amazing when we pull together and share whatever gifts we have with one another. We’ve got this!
