When Facing The Unknown

Today during my lunch hour for some reason we started a conversation about experiences and reactions when facing death. It sounds like a morbid conversation, but it was not, it was more like a story-telling type of conversation, even funny.

The person who started, told the story when in December 1999 she was living in La Guaira Venezuela and she went through the devastating fast floods that virtually wiped out the city. She was living in a small building, she was with her family and as the rain did not stop and power was lost, they could see from their Penthouse apartment how arms, legs, cars, houses were coming down the street. At one point she just realized that it could be it, that she had a good chance of dying. She thought that at least she was with her family and took a Bible and just waited. A few minutes later, she changed her mind and ran to the very top of the building where she waited for hours until a military helicopter saw her swinging an orange shirt and came for the rescue. There were 34 people in the building, half of them where elderly and there was pregnant woman, so the helicopter took that first group and she was saved in a second trip.

Another person told his story of the time he was swimming at the beach and got caught in a very bad under current and kicked him far from the shore. He tried very hard to go back as the waves were hitting him, but without luck. At that point he just stopped and thought: OK, I guess this is it, and stayed calmed. However, he then realized that shouldn't be it and he tried harder again to get out and was able to get to shore unharmed.

I then told my story: It was a few years ago; I was flying from Miami to Mexico City. I was preparing for a very busy schedule in Mexico so I was working like a maniac during the flight. About half an hour before landing, the Captain announced that the plane was having difficulties with the Hydraulic System and that we would probably have a bumpy landing. I didn't make much of it, since he sounded calmed. However, he made the announcement in English, and most of the people in the plane didn't understand it. The flight attendant took her turn at the mic and said that according to what the Captain just said, it was going to be dangerous landing and that all family members should sit together. So, PANIC IN THE PLANE! People started praying, changing seats, some of them cried.

I seriously was still calmed, and told the people around me what the Captain said and kept working. When we started the descent, I put all the papers away in my briefcase. At that moment, as I saw the fire-fighter trucks and ambulances waiting for us in the sidelines, it hit me, but just for a second. I thought, well this might be it, but I can’t do anything about it. I don’t know how to pilot a plane, so nothing was under my control. In that second I thought of Gina, we didn’t have kids at the time, but just the week earlier I had signed a Life Insurance. So I thought that Gina would be OK after all, she is a professional, we had some money in the bank and with the insurance policy she probably would have enough to start over again. She probably would go back to Wisconsin, I thought. I also thought about my parents and my siblings, nothing in particular, just thought of them and we landed. The lady sitting next to me grabbed my arm and started crying hysterically. The planed stopped and the Captain announced that we would get off the plane right there because we could not move anymore.

Since the landing was not that bad after all, I didn’t make much of it, again. I called Gina and told her that we had bumpy landing and made fun of everybody. Two weeks later, we received an apology letter from American Airlines and a $500 voucher. At that point we did realize I went through something serious.

We never know how we are going to react when the unexpected comes. I like to think that if I knew how to pilot a plane, I would have tried to take control.