Paper Planes

It's funny how things work. I had been fretting all day about what I was going to write about, and nothing. I tried letting my mind go, I tried focusing, I even tried to think in depth about everything that crossed my mind today. But nothing...

I was having a particularly bad "poor me" day. But, in true fashion, I always find that when I think I have it bad, there's always somebody who has is worse. I was flipping channels after work and I stopped on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She was having 8 survivors of US Airways flight 1549 that crashed into the Hudson River on January 15, 2009. I decided to watch, as I was working that day -- and I never watch the news -- and was not familiar with the details of the crash.

I expected the usual somber, tearful mood, as the survivors told their stories. But I was shocked when the guests were introduced and walked onstage to the thumping dance beats of "Survivor" by Destiny's Child, each one beaming and kid-like, dancing to the R&B beats as if it were a house party. This immediately touched me. Here I was expecting sad, and what I got was joy, laughter, and frivolity. The 8 men and women danced out onstage, one of them holding his hands out, pretending to be an airplane gliding. Another sailed paper airplanes into the audience as he, too, danced his way over to receive his welcoming hug from Ellen. This immediately brought tears to my eyes (as a matter of fact, I'm a little weepy recalling the scene). I don't know who was responsible, whether it be the producers of the Ellen show, Ellen herself, the energy in the air, or just the joy of the survivors to be alive, but I thought it beautiful that these people were celebrating their escape from death, rather than wallowing in the tried-and-true talk show downer.

The interviews were amazing. Each person recounting their memories of the 2 minutes that the plane was in the air before crashing into the Hudson River -- the explosion...the flames shooting from the engine...the shifting of the plane...the sound of the second engine shutting down. They described the "absolute eerie silence" as the plane seemed to effortlessly glide down towards the river, no one certain what was happening. Then hearing the captain simply say, "Prepare for crash landing." The story should've been told nervously, by wrinkled brows, and sullen eyes. But all 8 of these people smiled, laughed, cajoled, and joked. It was amazing... I found myself smiling with them.

Then Ellen asked if any one of them thought, or had time, to call anyone during the short descent. Most said that there was just no time. But a young woman, pretty and blond, said that she took out her Blackberry and managed to type a message to her husband containing just 4 simple words: "My plane is crashing." I immediately started crying as I imagined getting a message containing those 4 words from a loved one -- the fear, the heartbreak, the devastation. The woman said that she was prepared to die and knew that in the aftermath her husband would be frantic wondering if she, indeed, was on the plane. She said that she wanted him to know for certain that she was...

In the midst of the storytelling, one of the gentleman's wife, who was seated in the audience, told of how she had been watching Ellen's show when the program was interrupted for a breaking news story. She told of how annoyed she was that they cut in in the middle of a part of the show she was really enjoying. Then she told of the shock as she realized that the news story was about the crash, and that her husband was on that flight. It was the first time that the mood sank, as the gentleman's face went, for just a split second, from smiling, to tearful...

The show culminated in Ellen giving each of the 8 survivors a 7 days cruise for two, and what I thought was the icing on the cake: Ellen presented each of them with a t-shirt that altered her "laugh.dance.change" motto to state "laugh.dance.float." I found it to be brilliant!

Needless to say, my "poor me" mood had no where to run but away. Here were 8 people that faced what they all assumed was certain death, only to survive and tell their stories with all of the joy and laughter that could be imagined. It lifted my spirit and, just for a minute, made me a better person.

So today's post is a thank you to the Ellen DeGeneres Show for giving us what was least expected from the re-telling of disastrous moment-- joy... laughter... hope...gratefulness.

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The music that completes today's look is "Survivor" by Destiny's Child in appreciation for the survivors of US Airways flight 1549 for showing me that my struggles are never as bad as they seem.