I began thinking of moments that bring forward the evidence of positive thinking when those around are not quite on the same page with me. Since I'm making a couple of trips out to L.A. this month, I think I'll share the story of my last trip to the City of Angels...via The Mile High City.As a reminder (or if you're just tuning in), I am rural. Well, not me. No, I like to think of myself as quietly cosmopolitan -- a closeted glam-ma'am. No, I mean where I live. So rural, in fact, that the nearest international airport to me is around two hours away. Same is true of a Starbucks, a Target or a really good book store. But since there is good coffee here and online shopping, I'm coping.
Anyway, I methodically plan to get to the first leg of my trip without missing my flight. It is an early flight out which will take me to Denver before I mosey on over to Los Angeles. I try to book so that my layovers are around an hour. This booking is no different but when I get to the initial flight, I realized that it is seriously delayed. This is a first for me. I can't help watching the time pass on my phone.
I finally ask the steward about my connection in Denver to L.A. and he basically says, Uh, you're gonna miss it. He mentions that the next flight to connect will show up about an hour and half later. I look at the guy next to me and say, I'm making my flight. He says if he were a betting man, he'd bet I wouldn't. Fine. But what wasn't fine is my friend has changed her entire schedule to pick me up and I have timed it so that we could miss heavy traffic.
So, the plane finally takes off and lands in Denver. I've got 12 minutes to make my connection and I have to go from one end of this airport to the other. The crew has stowed my carry-on along with several others. Everyone retrieves theirs but they can't find mine. I ask them to look again. They do. It's there. I'm down to 7 minutes. As I'm running off the plane, the crew is literally cheering me on.
I hop the train and head down the concourse. Of course, it has to make all its regular stops and, of course, mine is the last one. By the time I get to the area I need, I'm down to no time, a set of escalators and about a quarter of a mile of tile to run to get to my gate. I sprint and, as an aside, think we should establish a national holiday for whomever came up with wheels on luggage -- seriously.
Out of breath, I get to the gate and doors are locked. There is a female attendant on the phone who is purposefully avoiding eye contact with me. The plane has not yet left. I state the obvious. She is very short with me and says she cannot open the doors once they are locked. I can sense her defensiveness. I don't sense anything, I see it. It's her whole demeanor. She thinks she's met me before. I'm the high strung person who's about to meltdown or the forcefully over-bearing person that will demand their rights.
She hangs up the phone. She's ready for me. I wonder what on Earth I can say to this person to get her to open the doors. I haven't said anything but she reminds me again that I cannot get on the plane. A thought floats across my brain: Imagine how nice it's going to be sitting in D7. So, I take a brief second to feel that. Then I ask her, Do you believe in miracles? She's taken aback. I tell her I do and that I would love for her to be a part of one of mine. Again, she tells me she cannot open the doors. I ask her, If you could be part of a miracle would you? She doesn't know what to say to me. I think she thinks I'm crazy. But I'm not worried about what she thinks of me. I am following my vision. Would you? She exhales deeply. She picks up the phone. The pilot answers. She hesitates before telling him that a passenger is waiting at the gate. I've told her that, sir. She turns away from me to speak more privately. She exhales again and I dare say from relief because she turns to me and nods. WHOOP! I'm ON and on my way to L.A. just as planned!
I give her hug and thank her but she's literally hustling my body and my bag through the doors. Right before she closes them, though, she says the most beautiful thing to me, I do believe in miracles. Now run!