Despite the fact that I like to think I have the freedom to enthusiastically color outside the lines, some would say, “It isn’t so”. I probably sold myself short by declining an invitation to have lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant this week, but I wasn’t sure I was up to the taste. Rightfully or wrongfully, the thought didn’t resonate with my palate, so-to-speak. Maybe I’m not all that adventurous when it comes to changing my routine and trying something totally foreign (pun intended) for lunch.
I left Washington yesterday afternoon with kind of a spring in my step. It had been a good week. The spring in my step was made even a little more pronounced when I was directed by the TSA agent to the TSA pre-check line at the airport to go through security. I actually thought the TSA agent was being uncharacteristically kind when he pointed me in that direction. I countered, “I’m not TSA approved.” He smiled and pointed his finger to the TSA notation on my boarding pass. Somehow I had missed it. I looked on line the day before when I checked in and didn’t see the notation.
Did I mention, I always get to the airport early? Despite the fact that Terminal “A” at Reagan National is always packed with people, the convenience of getting to the airport makes it work for me. Getting there early also gives me time to get a head start on writing my blog for the next day.
The gate where I was boarding was already packed with people when I arrived. In addition, the small counter space where I could charge my computer and cellphone while I took advantage of getting a head start on the next day’s blog was already taken. I took the only vacant seat in the gate area and waited for the folks who were flying out of that gate ahead of me, to be on their way.
Finally, the gate was empty of people and I moved over to the metal counter, intending to spend an hour charging my computer and working on my blog. I hadn’t really given any thought to the topic, but that isn’t unusual. I generally start with some kind of first sentence and two pages later I’m done. I barely heard it, but a subsequent announcement on the public address system sounded like “Donald Forrester”. I couldn’t decipher what was said along with the sound of what I thought was my name, but I shrugged it off. I obviously heard it incorrectly.
Okay, so I spent years with a hearing deficit. It wasn’t infrequent that I processed audible information incorrectly. Was the same true now that I have hearing aids? Maybe it was? It really did sound like my name.
A few seconds later, I heard what sounded like “Donald Forrester” again over the PA system. Was my hearing really processing the sound accurately? Okay, so I’m not totally a stranger to having my name called over the PA system at the airport. Once at Love Field in Dallas, two or three years ago, I had that same experience. I ignored it then. After all, it couldn’t really be me.
At some point while I was at Love Field before my plane boarded, I realized that I no longer had my BiPap machine. Immediately, a sense of panic set off an alarm in my head. What had I done with it? My head filled with questions? Did I leave it on the flight that brought me to Dallas? Could I have left it in Jason’s Deli where I had a quick meal when I first arrived at Love Field?
Hurrying to Jason’s Deli, they said they had found the gray bag and turned it over to Airport Police. Fortunately I was able to recover it from the security section in the airport. They mentioned that they had repeatedly called my name over the public address system. Wouldn’t you know it? It really was my name they were calling.
Yesterday, seconds later at Reagan National, I heard what sounded like my name for the third time. Okay, so what had I lost? I quickly made an inventory and nothing was missing. I turned to another passenger and asked: “What name were they calling over the public address system?” She didn’t know.
Leaving my computer and phone on the metal ledge, I quickly headed to the counter where three SWA employees were talking. I interrupted their conversation to ask, “What name was being called over the PA system? One of the ladies looked at her computer and said clearly, “Donald Forrester”.
Claiming that identity for her, she asked: “Do you plan to board your flight? You are the only passenger that hasn’t boarded”. I hurriedly collected my computer and phone and made it on the plane just before the door closed. It was really too close for comfort. It was definitely a near miss.
So how had I made a mistake like that? Being a creature of habit can have a downside. I always take the 5:45 flight home from D.C. At least that was mostly true until yesterday. Yesterday, I took the 4:50 flight to Chicago on my way to Austin. Wouldn’t you know it? It falls under Murphy’s Law. I flew out of Washington an hour earlier than I normally fly out and I arrived in Austin an hour later than I normally arrive.
It worked out okay, but I’m going to stop ignoring what I perceive to be the sound of my name. When you stop to think about it, aren’t the two most important words to anyone the sound of their name? Dale Carnegie expressed it this way: “A person’s name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”
All My Best!
Don