Easy Traveling

     How often do people complain about traveling, especially about the airlines?  Well I've been traveling almost every week for the past year, and I have to say that most of the airline personnel I've seen are actually pretty good.  Of course, like any job, there are some bad ones who seem sullen or bored, as if they just don't care.  But I've encountered even more who really seem to want to do a great job.

     Yesterday, I got home from a trip to North and South Carolina.  My US Airways flight from Spartanburg boarded on time and without issue.  We took off slightly early and landed in Philly about 20 minutes ahead of schedule.  We didn't have to wait for a gate or any gate personnel to show up and we deplaned quickly.  As I walked through the terminal on my way to baggage claim, I made a 10 minute stop at the US Airways Club and had a snack and a soft drink.  By the time I got to baggage claim, my bag was already sitting on the belt waiting for me.  As is often my custom, I went over to the baggage claim office and reported that I had no issues at all and thanked the agent for seeing that my bags came quickly and easily.  The agent seemed quite surprised to have someone stop in just to report good news, but after she got over the shock she broke into a big smile and thanked me for letting her know.

     I continue to be reminded on a daily basis that I'll see in the world pretty much what I'm looking for.  If I look for examples of dishonesty, poor attitudes, lousy service, pain, and misery, I'll surely see them all around me.  But if I look for examples of decency, goodwill, kindness, good service, and helpfulness, I see them everywhere I look.  Given a choice (and we all have a choice), I'd rather look for the latter.

     

Helping Injured Soldiers

     As I was flying from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh this evening, I started to flip through the US Air magazine.  On the next to last page was an article that caught my attention.  There was a picture of an American soldier, sitting in a wheelchair, having lost his legs as the result of an IED explosion.  The article was called Helping Heroes and was about how you can donate US Air frequent flier miles to any of 5 different organizations, one of which - Fisher House - was being featured in the article.

    Fisher House, I learned, is an incredible organization that helps the families of injured soldiers to visit them wherever they may be rehabbing or being treated.  Donated frequent flier miles are used to help fly these family members around the country so that they can be with their loved ones and support them through their recovery.  This seemed like a pretty darn good way to support our troops.

     When I finally got to my hotel this evening, I went on line to see how I could donate some miles.  It was pretty easy.  Just log into your US Airways account (I'm sure all airlines have similar programs) and then you can choose how many miles you want to donate and to whom.  Though all the organizations seemed absolutely worthy, I chose to donate some of my miles to Fisher House.  

     There are so many different ways we can all support our troops.  I was glad to discover (and act upon) yet another way.