My flight was packed and I’m pretty sure people were a
little more nervous than usual. I was on
my favorite airline – Southwest – and was on the plane in the first group,
settling myself into an emergency exit window seat.
I’m sure the crew was also a bit more nervous that the week
before. How could they not be? They were
dealing with the potential re-admittance of small knives on board and now the
uncertainty of what the events in Boston might mean.
Here’s how they handled things – with humor. The head flight attendant at the door was
manning the microphone as passengers entered.
As each new group entered, he said things like, “See that empty seat
right near you? Sit down!” “See that person
pretending to be asleep so you won’t sit near them, climb over them and sit down!” He got our attention to be sure. People started smiling. “We’re not leaving unless you sit down…and we really want to leave.”
As soon as everyone took their seat, he began the safety
procedures speech. I wish I had written
it all down because it was fabulous. You
had to listen just to see what he was going to say next. “We’re flying over water on this trip so in case
we have a water landing, put this toilet seat shaped vest over your head, don’t
blow it up til you get outside the plane and be sure to put your make-up on - because if you’re wearing this vest, you WILL
be on TV!”
Now no one wants to think about what it would mean if you’re
wearing a life preserver on a plane but we all giggled at that one. He also said not to expect an emergency
because if there was going to be one, the crew would have stayed in bed at the
hotel that morning.
He reminded us that it was a smoke free flight and that
those who chose to smoke would be escorted onto the wing for their rendition of
“Gone With the Wind” or “Bye Bye Birdie”.
As we neared the point where we were about to take off he
said he was going to dim the cabin lights… “You’re getting sleepy…….”
I loved this guy and this airline. They took what was a potentially stressful
day and made it fun. Instead of thinking
of scary possibilities, we were chuckling along with him.
We can all learn something from him. The tougher the time, the more we need to use
a little gentle humor to derail (deplane?) the stress. Sometimes we make matters worse by
ratcheting up the atmosphere when we actually have the chance to make it
fun.
I lived by this theory as a classroom teacher. Kids don’t like math? Use humor and fun as often as possible. For the flight school I used to own, same
thing. We even adopted the motto “We
make aviation fun!” It didn’t interfere
with our safety record or in the classroom with the importance of a good education
but it did make it worth showing up for.
What stressful situation can you lighten by adding a dose of
humor to it? It’s really up to you… it’s
your life, your flight…so buckle up and smile the stress away!
