I just saw the world... and we almost died together!

I just saw the world... and we almost died together!


True story:

I'm a people watcher believing we are a fascinating observable group. So time spent in a crowded airport on my way to Dallas recently was no problem,  It was a typical scenario with people like my wife and I visiting grandchildren, business women and men on smartphones and computers, families with small children perhaps going to Disney World, young, old, stressed loners rushing to the gate, happy travelers laughing and giggling, African American, Asian, Hispanic, caucasion, Muslim and I'm sure, many denominations of faith or not, LGBT and other, tanned and tattooed, bikers, military and Boy Scouts, those who love, those who hate, those who don't care, dogs, cats and more, much more.

Hello world!

A random group of us--144 to be exact, plus crew got on a plane destined for Dallas. The plane had an emergency. Nose wheel broke. Firery crash or what?

When we burned off the extra weight of fuel for two hours circling around Raleigh at 3,000 feet altitude, it was decided we would fly by the control tower at 200 feet, ala Tom Cruise in Top Gun, and the people there would scope us out.

We studied the brace positions as requested. We were advised the fire trucks, ambulances and rescue personnel would be visible beside our runway on the fly-by. The airport was on hold and the TV crews were filming--just in case. We made the television news as "a plane in trouble," perhaps like the movie "Airplane!" but not as funny.

Would we die together as people burned or mangled with bodies strewn everywhere? Or would we survive and continue to define ourselves as 'different?"

As the TV story showed, 144 people and crew landed safely. That's the tip... 144 people and crew, not 144 souls. and crew However, when you think about it, 144 souls and crew does unite us far more than just 144 people and crew. Maybe souls is good in every case.

I'm sure we in the plane were all different in lots of ways, just like as we were when we walked the terminal to board. But we all shared the same fate, whatever it would be, in the end. One for all and all for one.

At that moment, we were much more the same than different. And we lived. All of us.

Our world is not very different from a busy airline terminal.... or a plane. If given the option, we see ourselves different in too many ways. We fight wars, shoot, kill, hate, judge, bleed, but to what end? We really are one... as in the plane... as in the world sharing the air we breathe. 

You'd think we could do better... can't we?

At this moment, we all shared our world,: American Airlines MD-80 to DFW.