Near Christmas in 1992, I was working in Advertising & Special Promotions for Delta Air Lines. You can imagine how insanely busy ATL was during the holidays*. (Before its current rank as number one busiest airports in the world, it was still in the top 5 back then.)
Delta asked for volunteers for the two weeks before and after Christmas to help with a special area set aside at the airport for very, VERY special travelers. I signed up right away.
Three days before Christmas Eve, I left work and headed straight to the airport to help support the many American veterans who were trying to get home during the holidays to be with their families. Since they fly non-rev, sometimes there are long layovers**.
It was fairly easy to know immediately if someone wanted to chat or be left alone, and we respected each one’s choice. That’s what we were there for.
We served them coffee, soft drinks, snacks and smiles. And, sometimes, information. Cell phones weren’t widely used in those days, so checking on flights and giving directions were common favors.
I didn’t do as much for them – by any stretch of the imagination – as they did for me. These were the most honored celebrities I could have been lucky enough to serve in even the tiny way as that.
It was so much fun, at the end of my “shift,” I didn’t want to leave! The service men and women were a blessing to ME.