People are intrinsically kind. Every once in a while, I experience a reaffirmation of my faith in humanity. We actually do care for each other, even complete strangers.
Due to the lack of sleep I'd incurred over the previous few days, my mind had wondered a little more than usual. I was being flown out to LA to begin my next tour with a show called An Irish Christmas. There was a lot on my mind as I hadn't been employed for the two previous months and even though my next month and a half was planned, the time afterward was (and still is!) completely up in the air.
Southwest is the only airline with which I've ever experienced a layover where the plane has passengers continuing to the next destination with the crew and thus they stay on the plane during the unloading process. This was the first time I had ever been one of those passengers. In St. Louis about twenty other passengers and myself traveling from Columbus to Los Angeles remained onboard. Once the CMH-STL passengers left, I grabbed my belongings and moved forward in attempt to find a more desirable seat.
Having previously been in a window seat, I wanted to sit in the window again even though they do have slightly less room due to the curved wall of the plane. The front left window was open, but the front row lacks trays, which is a must for me when I make sure to get as much free food as I can. I have a tendency to put on my best smile and raise my voice slightly in hopes of obtaining another bag of pretzels, peanuts or if I'm lucky a sack of those 100 calorie Nabisco cookies.
Nature was calling so I hurriedly set my stuff down in a window seat in the third row, but then realized I should switch things up and get a view from the other side of the plane. My bladder couldn't wait, so I grabbed what I had and threw it in the window seat on the other side - these minuscule decisions were going to affect my next three hours! I had to choose a great seat!
A short line greeted me at the bathroom in the rear of the plane, where those in the queue waited by standing on the seats near the back. The restroom patron exited and I was second in line, when this Asian man walked right down the aisle and said to the man in front of me "Bathroom?"
"Yeah." He replied indifferently as he made a move to get into the aisle. However, he wasn't fast enough as said Asian man grabbed the door and walked right in...
When I got back to my new seat from the restroom, I started searching for my phone first thinking I had placed it in my jacket pocket where it had been the entire previous flight. It wasn't. It wasn't in any of the coat pockets. None of my pants' pockets. Maybe it was in my book bag, which was back overhead after I took out my headphones to use this flight. Nope.
Rummaging through all my stuff, people began to notice there was some anxiety in what I was doing. I went to recheck my bag, which was overhead. To do so, I had to cross paths with this woman standing in the aisle and making small talk with her new acquaintance. Jokingly she said, "Now that's it! That's the last time you'll get to walk up here." Even though she was smiling the whole time she said this, there was a slight tone of annoyance in her voice.
"It'll be the last time when I find my phone." Maybe that was a little harsh of a reply on my part. However, it sure got her attention.
"Oh! Where did you have it last?"
Now I was the onboard entertainment. Everyone who had been bored while we waited for the other passengers to board were all of a sudden intrigued by what was going on up front.
"Do you need my phone to call it?"
"Want me to call it?"
These are all wonderful offers, but I seem to love putting my phone on Do Not Disturb mode, so there was no way to hear it if someone did call. By this time I was sweating bullets - an all-to-common occurrence in such a situation. I felt so silly.
It wasn't on the floor by my old seats, where one of the flight attendants and I both checked while on our hands and knees. It wasn't on the floor by my new seats.
"It'll show up."
"We'll find it."
Then the guy sitting behind my new seat spoke up, "You were sitting over there first," pointing to the window seat across the aisle. Sitting right next to that seat was the Asian man! His wife's purse and jacket were laying on it.
He couldn't really understand English and his wife, who was the new found acquaintance of slightly-irritated woman said something to her husband, which must've made him understand what was going on. He lifted her belongings and there was the phone!
"Did you go to Notre Dame?" the helpful flight attendant asked me facetiously.
"Haha, yes. Yes I did." I said slightly embarrassed. Must've noticed the sweatshirt I was wearing.
"It's a great school." The man behind me interjected.
Thank you for the change of focus, Phone-finder-man! I thought.
The flight attendant made sure to check that I had my phone every time he walked by for the remainder of the flight.
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