You have probably received the emails that tell of inspiring events that happen on a plane. I love to read them, but often wonder if they are real.
I don’t wonder any more.
Just a couple of days ago, on a flight from DC to Chicago, the flight attendant announced that we had a “special passenger” on the plane. He was a wounded Marine heading out to join his comrades for a Marine Corps Ball in Las Vegas (they had been deployed during the actual birthday in November). While we had been boarding, the flight crew had been pooling its money and wanted to give him and his wife $300 dollars to spend while they were there.
As the flight continued, I watched the flight attendants flitter up to the couple every couple of minutes to hand over more cash. By the time we were over Ohio the passengers had raised $500 more.
By the time we landed it had increased to over a thousand.
Then the same flight attendant read a well-written and gracious note from the Marine, expressing his gratitude and telling everyone how much the gesture meant to him and his wife. As we deplaned, there were a lot of tears and a lot of smiles from the people on board.
This just confirms what we already know. There are a lot of good people out there.
In America.
