Inspiring Confidence

On a recent flight from San Francisco to Chicago, I sat in the row behind the exit row. Because of my close proximity, I was privy to the exit row "briefing."

There were three people in the exit row. In the window seat, a Navy Seal who said to the flight attendant, "if I save your life, can we fly off to some tropical paradise together?" Somewhat surprisingly, she said yes. In the aisle seat was a very non-descript woman who I can only guess was the mother of the kid in the middle seat.

Oh, the kid in the middle seat... He was about 16, old enough to sit in the exit row, but when asked if he would assist in the unlikely event of an emergency, he hesitated. OK, it was more than hesitation. He stared blankly at the flight attendant without saying a word for two whole minutes. She asked again. He said nothing. She went to talk to the people on the other side of the plane, came back and asked again...he stared. He took out the exit row card to see what, exactly, he was being asked to do. The woman in the aisle seat started yelling, "just say yes, say yes." The Navy Seal joked about how it didn't matter because he would save us all (I wondered if that meant that he was extending the invitation to the tropical paradise to everyone whose life he saved). Finally, after close to fifteen minutes, he said yes. I have never wished for a plane not to crash more in my entire life. Never.

Even if you don't really want to do it, just say yes quickly for the sake of everyone else...