(DQ) Blogging - E-Blast Assignment

As a college student, flying back

home for Thanksgiving is almost

always a harrowing experience.

Airport lines stretch on for what

seems like miles, flights are

overpriced, delays are inevitable, and

a soundtrack of crying toddlers plays

perpetually in the background. All

you think about is getting home. It is

not about the journey—just get me to

the destination.

However, by chance, by fate, or by the

magic of Southwest Airlines, my

college Thanksgiving break plane

flight home was far from harrowing—

in fact it was quite…hot?

NOVEMBER . 2020 • THE COLLEGIATE TRAVELER

The magical tale of

Southwest Flight 6758

HEY SAILOR

The idea of air travel has always carried a bit

of romance to it. Taking a trip far away and

falling in love with the stranger next to you,

while you sip your martini and read an

airport Vogue. Ah what a life. Well, on

November 24, 2018 it was my life—just add

10 freshly shaven, crisply dressed, and

dashingly handsome sailors from the Naval

Academy.

I was one of the last to board Southwest’s

redeye flight from Washington, D.C. to

Denver, which I booked through Southwest

Lowfares Calendar, the go to resource for

cheap flights. I squeezed through the

airplane aisle, keeping my eyes on the

ground to avoid any loose limbs. Finally I

arrived at the second to last row on the

airplane and heard the flight attendant say,

“Oh there is one last seat right here. Boys,

I’ve got my eye on you. You be nice to her.” I

looked up. After spending a semester at a

womens’ college, I’d forgotten what men

looked like. Now there was not one, not

two, but ten Naval Academy boys greeting

me with smiles ear to ear.

Of course I pretended not to notice them

the whole flight. I kept to myself, reading

the same three sentences of my economics

textbook, fake sleeping, and acting coy. I

thought I was really playing the situation

cool, but the sweet flight attendant

thought otherwise and came to check on

me.

“Hey honey, are you feeling OK? You look

really hot and flushed. Want me to get you

some ice?”

“Um, yeah sure,” I whispered nervously

glancing around me to make sure that

none of the guys heard.

She came back a few minutes later with a

zip lock of ice which I dramatically put to

my forehead. I wasn’t fainting—but would

Adam, the sailor next to me, notice if I did?

At the end of the flight, as we waited to

deplane, I mustered enough courage to

talk to the guy in the aisle seat across from

me. I learned the group was headed to the

mountains for a few days before attending

a Chris Stapleton concert. I left the plane in

a daze and "Tennessee Whiskey" waltzing

through my head.

A few hours later I received an email from

Southwest. Apparently we had hit some

turbulence that had alarmed some

passengers, and as an apology Southwest

gifted me $500. I was surprised by the

company's generosity--especially during

the hectic holiday season. If the plane

rocked or dropped, I never felt it. I was too

busy steadying my heart rate amongst a

sea of crisp white uniforms.