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There are times when a word of encouragement can sometimes be as refreshing as a delicious glass of ice cold water on a sweltering summer day, don’t you think?

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m traveling this week up in the Chicago area (and lemme just shout out a big ol’ HOWDY to everybody in the neighborhood - wave, wave). As I was leaving O’Hare though, I saw what looked like some pretty heavy weather in the direction I was headed (Joliet). Yuck; I hate it when that happens, don’t you?

By now, most of you probably know I have a “thing” about wild weather. (Go ahead; laugh all you want, but I still say weird weather follows me around.) But I can recall at least one time when bad weather turned out to be a blessing…

Some years ago I worked on a project up near the town of Sherman, Texas (a more-or-less wide spot on I-75, a bit north of Dallas), and for a while there I was flying back and forth from Houston to Dallas every two weeks (and boy, were my arms getting tired!) One Monday morning stands out because of the particularly heavy weather in the Dallas area.

Now, I’m not one of those who absolutely must “get there at all costs”; I simply hate having a tight travel schedule (by hate I mean really, really hate). I prefer to make travel arrangements such that: a) I don’t have to rush to the airport, b) arrive with plenty of lead time, and c) can relax, have a soda, board the plane and go. As far as I’m concerned, any other way just leads to high blood pressure and anxiety. (I’ve seen enough of those types over the years and, well, it’s not for me, Bubba; not for me.)

Anyway, this particular Monday, there were some pretty hairy thunderstorms in the Dallas area causing all kinds of flight delays. By the time I had arrived at the Houston airport, my flight had been cancelled and there were a fairly large number of seriously upset folks at the gate. In the midst of this, the gate agents were asking for people to volunteer for later flights in exchange for a couple of first-class upgrades (a sure sign the schedules were seriously bollixed).

Now this sounded like a fairly good deal to me; after all, I wasn’t really on a strict timetable, and having that extra arm- and legroom always sounds pretty good to a long drink of water like me. However, if there’s one thing I’d learned about this type of situation, it’s this: never accept the first offer! After all, there were only so many flights; with about a bazillion people trying to get them it was only a matter of time before they would sweeten the deal.

Sure enough, after about a half hour or so, they started offering four upgrades. Well, that was good enough for me, so I stepped into the line to take them up on it.

Well, wouldn’t you know it; I had the misfortune to get behind someone who was just absolutely bent out of shape about the whole thing. I mean, you’d think it was the airline’s fault, as if the storms were a personal affront or something. (It was so irritating that I was about ready to give ‘em a good hard kick in the butt just on general principles; I mean, c’mon!) This person griped and grumbled to himself in the line, and when they finally got up to the obviously overstressed gate agent, they really gave her the works!

That poor agent - I have to give her credit for not reaching across the counter and giving the person a good, swift backhand (sorry; I don’t mean to sound so violence-oriented here, but they surely deserved it). She bore the running insults and diatribe very well, though, and eventually managed to get to me.

As we worked out my alternate flight arrangements, I expressed sympathy for her abuse at the hands of so many irate travelers, and told her how much I appreciated her help in working my schedule out, which earned a bit of gratitude, to say the least. As she handed me the envelope containing my certificates, she leaned toward me and quietly thanked me for being so kind and understanding. (Alas, it was apparent these two qualities were in somewhat short supply that morning.)

It’s amazing what a kind word can accomplish, don’t you think?

Here’s someone who was suffering a truly bad day - and it wasn’t even noon yet! Everyone around her had a legitimate reason to be a bit grumpy - after all, who really likes having a flight delayed or cancelled, right? But at the same time, this gate agent ended up being the focus of all the frustration and outright anger. It simply wasn’t fair.

Now, I wasn’t able to help much; after all, she still had her job to do. But the least I could do was offer a word of encouragement, and express my gratitude for her help. I was sure it made a difference, even if only a small one. I know I would have appreciated it.

Ah, well, there were still a few hours until flight time. A soft drink and a book could always keep me company, so I headed for the concession area. A few minutes later, soda in hand, I opened that envelope she had given me - only to find there were not four upgrade certificates, but eight!

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