People watching...

I was in the John Wayne airport in Newport Beach, California recently. Wherever there is a large quantity of people and time to kill, it’s only natural for me to people watch. I happen to be doing this while killing an hour in Newport Beach recently. There was a woman that caught my attention. She was tall, had long blonde hair and appeared to be in here 40’s. She was wearing an outfit and jewelry that said, notice me. Her apparent surgically enhanced looks, dark “Coach” sunglasses (worn indoors) and “Gucci” purse over her shoulder said the same. I immediately thought to myself, there is a rich, self centered, “first class” traveler, probably upset that she has to fly commercially vs. a private jet.

Due to late booking on my part, my family and I all had to sit separately and all of us had middle seats. As you head down the middle isle of the plane, waiting on the person ahead of you to place their bags in the overhead compartments, you can’t help but notice people as well, wondering what their story is, where they are traveling, are they starting a vacation or heading home, etc. As I make my way towards my seat I start to count the rows to see who I am sitting next to? You do that also, come on admit it. Well as I was counting the rows I noticed that the middle seat that I am to sit in was right next to the same woman I had noticed in the airport. Oh great, I thought, just my luck. No problem, I have my noise cancelling headphones with me. I will place these on my head and listen to my ipod the whole flight. Won’t even give her a reason to complain. I’ll stay on my side of the seat rail thingy and it will be all good.

Things are going quite well, into my own thing, reading a magazine I had brought, listening to music when the “Coach”, “Gucci”, “surgically enhanced” passenger next to me, elbows me, obviously wanting to tell me something. So I take my headphones off and she says, “wake me when they start serving passengers”, and proceeds to fix her pillow for a little nap. I think to myself, man is she ever self centered. She never really falls asleep, and a few minutes later she elbows me again and makes a comment about my magazine, “hobby”? Now I’m thinking, what are my options here? I know better than to take my headphones off, as that can open the door for a “talker” to steal the rest of the flight from you, but I remove them against my better judgement. Boy was I surprised.

Her squeaky little voice starts in, are firearms a hobby of yours or are you in law enforcement? I answer, hobby, and that begins a conversation that lasts the majority of the flight. Turns out I had read her all wrong. As I got to know her a little, I find out all kinds of things about here that tell me exactly the opposite of what my first impression was. She is in her 40’s, she is caring for her ailing grandmother. She hears that my family is behind me somewhere and offers to have my wife come sit with me and she will take Diana’s seat. Wow, really I think? That’s not self centered at all given Diana is in a center seat and she is in an isle seat. She doesn’t mind that at all. She offers me part of the food box she just purchased from the flight attendant. She goes on to tell me about her 22 year old son and her job and, on and on. She asks all about me and my family, genuinely listening and engaged. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. As the plane lands she steps out to the isle and removes my briefcase stowed in the overhead bin and hands it to me. I could not believe how nice and caring and sweet she turned out to be. I could not believe how I had misread her, letting my mind create something, someone, based on outward appearances.

Boy did God teach me a lesson on that flight. Thank you God for the conviction I needed to remind me that it’s what’s inside a person that makes them who they are. Help me to not form opinions based on appearances. Help me Lord to see people through your eyes!