On Sunday, I flew from LAX to ATL on a very cramped, very delayed, very annoying flight. I remember vividly, walking up the aisle and realizing that I was in a row next to a blind man. For a moment I thought, "Ok, don't I have extra responsibilities or something, sitting next to a handicapped person on an airplane? Don't I have to help him with his seat raft or something if we land in water?"
To be clear, I don't have very good luck with chance encounters. I probably have ten bad ones for every one good one. I mean, some are so bad they're actually comedic, and for that I'm grateful, but most are just bad.
"Perfect" I thought, "This actually makes total sense. The flights been delayed, the weather is bad, of course I get a blind person to sit by."
You'll notice the obvious set up at this point, as in, this encounter was in the end very positive. But it was more than positive, it was, a moment. A place in time, in your life, that you wish you could stick a pin in. If there's a long line on a piece of paper that represents your life, where would you stick your pins?
I'd stick one on Sunday, December 8th.
As we sit doing nothing, the man strikes up conversation. I'm seething, that this company would board its passengers with no pilots there to fly the plane, and now, I have to engage with this single serving friend, for how long, five hours, ten hours, seventy years?
Looking back, it's clear that at this point I'm the center of self-absorption.
His finger flies up and slides back and forth over the little fan thingy, he says he's looking for a call button. The passenger behind him reaches over, takes his finger, and leads it to the call button for him.
Well crap. That was obviously my job I guess. But I wasn't sure if I should just grab his hand and lead him, or if I should hit my own call button, then explain to the stewardess that this man needs help pushing his call button... It already seems like a Python sketch.
We take off finally, I find that he is, despite my preconceived notions, a very pleasant conversationalist. I notice his iPhone, because I can totally stare at his phone and he'll never know it. He's got headphones plugged in, and his phone is reading to him from the book of Hebrews.
That was probably the first time I've ever seen a blind person digging into scripture. A strange thought: Do blind people ever get upset, reading about Jesus granting sight to the blind? Clearly he can, yet they're still blind.
We work our way to talking about the Bible, and the man tells me he's memorized the entire book of Hebrews. He picked one book to memorize, and decided that would be his book, he loves the message of it, and he knows it all the way through.
Now, several people, including the man behind that helped him, are turning their ears to listen to him. By the end of the flight he has a tiny little audience, and the funny thing is, he totally has no idea.
Since I also love Hebrews, we talk easily about it. He tells me it's very accessible for the new seeking Christian, but also plenty of deep theology for the person interested in study.
The exact reason I always tell people I love Hebrews.
I'm disarmed, this terrible horrible no good very bad flight has turned on its head.
I've never had one of these "check out who I met on a plane" stories, so thanks for indulging me.
He says he's a bit worried about his connecting flight to Orlando. It's due to take off three minutes after we land. Before he's finished talking the stewardess, one of his recent fans, tells him they're going to hold the plane and she's going to lead him to it herself.
As we exit, a few people around us introduce themselves to him, for no real apparent reason at all. He holds out his hand indicating they can shake it, and they do.
He stops the stewardess from leading him away so he can say goodbye to me. He says he sings, and also says he'd love to listen to my books if I ever get them on audio format.... Yeah I need to do that.
Here he is, Neville Peter, the man who made my flight a bit better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g1EWML1tNo
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