8A

Destiny, there’s a word for you! We live our lives moment by moment, and yet we look at it like a package deal, work time, family time, dinner time, it gets clumped together, so that we look forward to vacation, or spring break, or summertime, winter time…I think you catch my drift. Whenever I head into Haiti, this time decompression happens, time slows, much like the drag I feel as the pilot comes to land, and especially when you hit the runway and the air brakes engage, the thrust is reversed, and you are reminded why they are insistent on your seatbelt being fastened. We flew Jet Blue this trip and have actually been very impressed with their service. The planes were on time, and we were so grateful that our connection with Deloris and her grandson Ray happened smoothly. As we boarded in Fort Lauderdale, I was separated out from our group due to a booking detail. My seat was 8A. As I walked down the aisle about two rows back from my seat a stewardess was standing overseeing the boarding process. As I approached my row, sitting in the middle seat between the aisle and my window seat was an elderly Haitian woman. I couldn’t help but notice her discontent. She was writhing in her seat and seemed to be trying to communicate to anyone who would lend an ear, but neither the stewardess nor myself understood her attempts to speak to us in Creole. The stewardess said she could see about moving her and I said no, she was fine. As I took my seat, I noticed she was pulling on her seat belt that was already buckled and was a twisted mess. Then she looked at me and I knew what she was struggling with, she wanted the seatbelt unfastened. I assumed she was a free woman, and if she wanted the seatbelt undone, I was just the guy to set her free! And that is what I did. She exploded with a grateful outburst, I was her new best friend. But just as quickly as she had erupted with thanks, she also reached under the seat in front of her, snatched her bag and was up out of her seat. The stewardess shrugged her shoulders as the woman moved back into the aisle crowd and headed toward the back of the plane. A few minutes later, the stewardess came back and told me they had discovered the older woman’s daughter was on the plane and they had seated them together, problem resolved. Toward the end of the flight the stewardess came back to me and said, “you know that older woman you helped this evening, we discovered she is 108 years old!” I was staggered. Haitians have a much shorter lifespan due to the lack of a proper and steady diet among other things, and here my path would intersect at row 8, window seat A with a woman who was defying time. As we struggled through terrible traffic this evening and finally arrived in St. Marc a little haggard and worn, I have given pause all evening to reflect on this beautiful soul and the undoubted anguish and suffering her life has seen, how she reacted to the freeing of a seat belt, a simple gesture on my part, our lives connected for that brief moment and I captured it. I am not sure I will make it to 108, but if I do, I hope someone will be kind enough and patient enough to be marking moments in a way to be of assistance to me should I find myself trapped by an airline seatbelt. Yes, time has slowed once again. The drag of Haiti is upon us, the trailer was not released to us today, we are hoping for the morning. We will see, but for now, I’m giving myself to the moments, surrendering to, and being a part of this day. Tonight, I hope you can, and will too. We are all here, the team is bedded down, our two newbies, Ray and Sean are adjusting fine, my mat is calling me, and my laryngitis is needing reprieve and healing time, more tomorrow. Blessings from St. Marc tonight!