Connecting: It Takes a Leap of Faith
The subtle, yet foreboding orange triangle with an exclamation point in the middle, caught my attention when I went to check in for my flight from Asheville to Dallas and then Dallas back to Santa Rosa. I was returning home from visiting my family after a long 19-months without seeing them in person. It was a weather warning signal, alerting passengers that flights might be cancelled or delayed. Dallas had experienced tornados the previous day 45-minutes north and south of the city center. I decided to call the airline and see if there was a way to avoid going through Texas. Sure enough I was able to change my flight. I would now be traveling Asheville to Charlotte, then Charlotte to San Francisco. Sadly, I’d be leaving my family a little early, but we all agreed it was a better choice then to risk delayed or cancelled flights. After tearful goodbyes and the biggest hugs I could muster, I arrived at the sweet little Asheville airport.
Within a 15-minute period as I sat waiting, my flight was delayed at first 30-minutes, but then the delayed departure time increased to 2-hours with no guarantee the flight would happen at all. It seemed there was some mechanical issue and the plane wasn’t currently at the airport. To add to this, there was murmuring about the cyber attack on the Colonial pipeline possibly impacting gas and jet fuel reserves. Many of us on this impending flight lined up to talk possibilities with the airline employees. As I was in line, I called my Mom to explain what had happened and we created a plan that I would rent a car and drive the 2-hours to Charlotte. She hopped on the computer to procure a rental car as I learned how to retrieved my luggage which was already checked in.
As I was creating a plan with my Mom, I could not help but notice all of the furious hustle and bustle of the other customers. Anxiety and anger were quickly becoming fever pitch. One woman in particular caught the eye of many. There stood this bleached-blond woman in her late 50’s, with bedazzled jeans, a velour hoodie and graphic tee, ranting with expletives about this airline. She headed off to grab a rental car, returning within minutes to find out how to reclaim her luggage. As she was leaving the room she loudly announced to the crowd that anyone was welcome to join her and her companion on their drive to Charlotte. No one jumped at the opportunity, but a seed was planted.
I went to collect my luggage and there was the disgruntled blonde. While we stood waiting for our luggage I asked her if there were many rental cars left. With a quick response back to me in her raspy voice, she said, “Come with us.” I jumped. I called my Mom, who was still working on the quickly disappearing and increasingly expensive rental car situation, to tell her I was traveling with Diana and her companion Jason to Charlotte. I could hear the concern in my mother’s voice, but I was following a feeling. For some reason, I trusted these two.
Jason was a very handsome, late-30’s black man, dressed in a beautifully tailored maroon suit and donned a large stone beaded necklace. He had a welcoming smile and with it invited me on to this adventure. The three of us got in the car and started off noticing the lines at the gas station 15-deep as people panicked about the gas situation. We got caught in a downpour requiring hazard lights with minimal visibility, but we powered on. Our drive was filled with laughter and stories. We talked about our respective childhoods and families, racism, homophobia, politics, religion, grief, raising children and the importance of legacy. The hours zipped by and I was on cloud nine when they dropped me at the Charlotte airport.
I tell this story not necessarily to encourage people to jump into cars with complete strangers, but to encourage people to give one another a chance. I took a leap of faith. I gave these two the benefit of the doubt as they did with me and I had an adventure of a lifetime connecting with two unbelievably unique and beautiful human beings. As we come out of this post-COVID world, continue to be cautious, but also allow yourselves to take leaps of faith.