That's Life 1/29/2010

There are a number of things you don’t want to hear while you’re on a plane flying over water. One of them is: “Don’t worry - I’m sure it’s nothing.”

Maybe it was because I was watching a movie about a specialized group of American soldiers stationed in Iraq who defuse bombs. “The Hurt Locker” is an excellent film and was completely engrossing, but maybe not the movie I should have been watching when I heard a beeping sound.

After checked my own bags to see if the noise was coming from something I had with me even though I was sure I had turned off my phone, I asked the person next to me if she heard the noise as well. She did, although she was also certain that she had turned her phone off. Neither she nor I could therefore determine from where the noise was emanating. It was time to alert a flight attendant.

“I hear a strange beeping noise,” I said, and proceeded to bring her over to where I was sitting. The flight attendant said she heard it too, but then added, “Don’t worry - I’m sure it’s nothing.” Perplexed, I said to her, “Don’t worry? This strange beeping noise doesn’t bother you at all?”

And no, it seemed that it did not. “I am sure it is just someone’s cell phone that they did not turn off or maybe someone’s alarm,” she replied as she attempted to be reassuring. But since someone in the movie had just detonated a bomb by using his cell phone, I was far from reassured.

“To be honest,” I said, “it does not make me feel better - but making the beeping stop will.” She asked me to return to my seat and I did, while watching her and three other flight attendants locate the sound and wake the passenger who, it seems, did not turn off his cell phone as instructed before take-off. “It is all taken care of,” the flight attendant said to me, after the noise ended and the passenger went back to sleep. I thanked her for taking care of things.

The rest of the flight was smooth, but to be honest, I was happy to land safely and be on the ground. I was looking forward to leaving the company of this other passenger and going on my merry way, never to see this gentleman again. And my plan would have gone fine had the flight crew been able to open the door. For some reason, they could not and a ground maintenance crew had to enter the plane from the tail and, almost surgically, open the door so we could all deplane.

Let’s just say that the tefillat haderech [prayer for the road] I said at the beginning of the flight had definitely been worth it. Maybe next time, just maybe, I can go somewhere or do something and not have a story to tell when it’s over. Wouldn’t that be nice?

MLW