“By chance we meet,
by choice we grow…”
– anonymous
She was slender, lithe of build, possibly 5’7” (1.7m),
wearing blue jeans a grayish tee shirt, sporting short dark hair, which gave
her somewhat of a mannish look. She was
carrying a well worn ‘over the shoulder’ bag that hung diagonally across her
body…the sandals were tan with a series of interwoven leather straps.
Off to Dubai…
The flight was a little late arriving in Los Angeles from
San Diego, but there were still more than two hours before the next leg to Hong
Kong...it was not a problem.
If you arrive in the domestic terminals in LA, you cannot
stay in security and pass to the international gates. That requires going outside for a short walk to
the Thomas Bradley International Terminal. Once inside the 'Bradley,' you go
through the entire security process again.
Bureaucracy ‘is’…
The line was really long, snaking back and forth like the
ones waiting for roller coasters at an amusement park. You pass the same people three or four times heading
to one end of the cordoned off area, only to turn back the other direction,
moving two or three feet closer to those machines that x-ray your carryon bags,
and peek through your clothing as you raise your hands overhead in quiet
submission.
At the amusement park you wait for 20 or 30 minutes to feel
90 seconds worth of heart pounding exhilaration, dropping from great heights,
twisting and turning whilst screaming your lungs out. In this case, the time in line is in
preparation for a ride, hopefully smooth, uneventful and in this case lasting about
24 hours.
Serendipity…
I caught a break when one of the security folk opened a
section to let a few move over to the first class priority line which had
run out of people…timing is everything.
And so it was that I found myself behind a young woman trying
to decide which x-ray line to get into.
The shorter one had two families with babies and small children along
with a couple of older folk. She was in
front of me and I said pleasantly, “The rule of thumb is not get in lines where
there are children and older people.
They generally take a lot longer to get through.” “Thanks,” she said with a smile and headed to
the longer line with none of the aforementioned folk…well, except me in the latter
category, but then again I was behind her.
As we settled in she turned and said, “You must travel a
fair amount.” I said I had some, which
led to small talk about where each of us was going and what had brought us to
this particular trip.
It is surprising how much ground can be covered while
waiting to put your laptop, shoes, belt, watch, phone, liquids in a separate
bag, sunglasses, hat, jacket and whatever else might need to be removed and
scanned separately before you and your immediate clothing slip into the ‘see
through’ radiation that becomes the last security check.
Getting to know you…
The girl’s name was Kat – short for Katheryn, spelled with
the additional ‘e’ she told me. I said I
was ‘Ted’ pretty much short for ‘Ted,’ which brought a chuckle.
It turns out Kat was 27 and headed for Bali, a small Island
on the Southeastern end of Indonesia.
She was “…closing a chapter in my life, and looking to open the next
one…” she said, a little too wistfully.
I had the feeling the “…closing chapter…” had left her unsettled and feeling
a bit vulnerable.
I asked her what she did for a living. “I write, am a bit of
an entrepreneur, and some other things,” she replied. “I’m going to Bali for a meeting of
international entrepreneurs to discuss options.” While it was clear she was bright and
articulate, she did not have the look and feel of someone who took business
risks for a living. In spite of sounding
brave and adventurous, I had the sense she was looking to get away, and if so,
one could not get much ‘further away’ than Bali!
As we picked up all the stuff we had placed in bins, and put them back in our pockets and bags, we did the usual, “Nice to
meet you and chat. Have a good trip,”
and off we went in different directions – she to wait two hours for her
first leg to Singapore and me to Hong Kong for mine.
Being led is a risk…
It was then I got that feeling that comes from time to time.
“Hey Kat,” I called after her.
As she turned I continued, “Listen I belong to an airline
club and if you like, I would be happy to take you in as a guest. I mean, you wouldn’t need to hang out with me,
but there is food, comfortable places to sit, internet access and it's quieter than
sitting at the gate for a couple of hours.”
It was one of those deals that have a constellation of
mental calculations going on in a moment.
I am a stranger…an older man inviting her to an airport lounge. What could be my motive? What risk might
there be? I was playing this in my head,
working to find a rationale for the willingness to follow the leading I was
feeling. She, on the other hand would have
her own calculus to contend with.
We both stood looking at one another for a few seconds, me
feeling a bit silly, having no idea what she was thinking...she mentally
drifting away somewhere to sort out a response.
“Sure,” she said after a brief moment and with the kind of
smile that comes with decision and trust.
You are allowed to bring one guest with you into these
places, if they have a ticket on the same airline and usually going in the same
direction. This was not the case. The
woman greeter at the counter frowned and asked us to wait until she checked
everyone else in. Once that was done,
she indicated she would let Kat in, but it was an exception to the rule…she did
this with a gracious smile, and in we went.
How did we get here…
Let’s catch this up…my flight was late arriving…I had to
change terminals…the line was long, but I was at the right place when the security
gal let a small group into the open priority line…a young woman coming from a
different line was in front of me, and a conversation started. I think that about does it.
When we were inside, I took her around to show her where
things were – food, restrooms, computers and the more comfortable areas. I then told her I was going to get something
to eat and she was welcome to join me or poke around the club. She thought she would explore and off she
went.
I grabbed dinner and did a little work until it was time to
head to the gate. Leaving the lounge, I
saw Kat sitting behind her computer with ear buds in. I stopped to wish her a safe trip and she got
up. “Listen Kat, I don’t have any idea
where you have been or where you are going, but there are three things you need
to know: - there is nobody better than you are – you are in charge of your
life, NO ONE else has that responsibility – if people tell you that you cannot
do something that is in your heart, thank them politely walk away and
completely ignore them.”
You might imagine this was a lot to say to someone you neither
knew nor had any real inkling as to their circumstance. If fact, I was fighting a little internally
as I blurted these unplanned remarks out.
Her eyes watered and she said, “Thank you for inviting me in
here, and thank you for the words. I
needed to hear them in my life right now.”
I reached out my hand…she pushed it aside and gave me a hug. It was heartfelt and I was a little
surprised. As I turned to leave I said
quietly, “Our job in life is to strengthen one an other.” It was intimate and also heartfelt and I was
out the door.
Epilogue – sort of…
I have no idea what kind of journey Kat had been on or what
lay ahead of her. I know this, however,
life passing between two people can happen in an instant. A split second is enough to transmit a
little assurance or faith that can make a difference ways unknown. I know this of a certainty, for I have been
on the receiving end of many such events.
The thing is, when these happen they are never on one-way streets. The cycle of giving and receiving benefit
both on the two way streets of life.
Small gestures…shared rewards.
Whatever Kat took away from her encounter with a stranger on
her way to Bali, I too carried with me to Hong Kong and now Dubai where I am
putting these thoughts into words. Two strangers and a little life shared...the whole greater than the sum of the parts.
Kat…wherever you might be, thanks…
- ted
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