Weekly Message from T. J.

This Guy’s Crazy

As I sat in the airport waiting area, we heard the first sign of trouble. ā€œLadies and gentlemen in the waiting area, we are getting information now from Canada air traffic control that due to weather and traffic over Toronto, we are looking at about a four hour delay taking off this afternoon. Weā€™ll keep you advised of any changes.ā€ My intuition and my travel experiences said that I might be in for a long evening in Detroit. And not much later, it came: ā€œLadies and gentlemen in the waiting area, the flight to Toronto has been cancelled by Canada air traffic control. You will all be automatically rebooked. Please be patient.ā€

Since I was near the desk at the gate I was able to speak with an agent who booked me on a direct flight the next morning, and I was considering where I might stay in Detroit that evening. Then the gate agent, in response less to my outwardly calm demeanor, and more in response to the meltdown of a passenger on my left, said these words seemingly to no one in particular, ā€œYou know, most people donā€™t realize that renting a car and driving to Toronto from Detroit can be faster than flying.ā€ Challenge accepted.

I had nothing at all to lose by trying to convince someone to let me drive a car across an international border and leave it there. If I were unsuccessful, I would be in a hotel in Detroit for the night and fly out in the morning. The only difference would be I would have spent a little less time talking to rental car companies. But before I departed, I decided to make my own gate announcement to the forlorn gathered dejectedly there: ā€œIā€™m gonna try to rent a car and drive to Toronto. Anyone wanna come with me?ā€

Now, if life were a movie, this would have been the moment when a plucky group of lost souls gathers to overcome their dilemma and make lifelong friends in the process. But life isnā€™t a movie. People just stared. One young man, if I wasnā€™t mistaken, shook his head at me in an almost embarrassed gesture of, ā€œThis guyā€™s crazy.ā€

I understand him, really. I know there have been hundreds of times that someone has an idea, an invitation, a way of welcoming me, and I either didnā€™t understand it or I couldnā€™t be bothered. Who knows what kind of adventures, what kinds of stories, what kinds of movies my life could have had so far by saying ā€œyesā€ a few more times to something that seemed surprising or different, especially when I didnā€™t have much more than an hour of my time to lose. Well, I donā€™t spend a lot of time thinking about chances I never took, but I know Iā€™ll consider more seriously and with more humor the suggestions for adventure, difference, and creativity in the face of disappointment I find the in the future. Because when the credits rolled on this movie, there I was, flying solo in a Kia Soul, making a mad dash for the border, on an adventure I never saw coming.

And may it always be so.

Blessings,
Rev. T. J.
minister@unitariansofhi.org

5 Responses to “Weekly Message from T. J.

  1. I would have responded “yes!” to your offer. I live a rugged life. Enjoy your much deserved break.

  2. Yes, T.J.! What ā€œadventureā€ awaited you as you ā€œmade a mad dash for the borderā€ in a Kia Soul?

  3. Insightful story -generous heart responded to with cautiousness and a bit of fear. May we stay open and generous

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