No Such Thing As Overinflated Kindness

My sister and I are flying from New York to Texas. I’m a very nervous flyer and get massive anxiety. We are in the air when I feel a panic attack coming on. At that moment, my sister gets my attention.

Sister: “Uh, [My Name], is this normal?”

I look at her tray and the bag of chips she bought in the airport has inflated a crazy amount. I’ve never seen that happen before.

Sister: “I really want to eat them but I don’t know if it’s safe to open.”

Me: “I’m not sure either. We really don’t need it to pop.”

The flight attendant is coming around, and when she gives us our drinks, I ask about the bag.

Me: “She really wants to eat them, but we’re worried it’ll pop. Is it okay to open the chips?”

The flight attendant is so nice and assures us it will be okay as long as we open it slowly. We have a good laugh about it, and my sister is able to eat her chips. We spend a week in Texas, and on the plane ride home, my sister gets my attention.

Sister: “Hey, isn’t that the same flight attendant from the trip here?”

I look over and I’m not sure. We argue for a bit until the flight attendant comes over to us. 

Me: “Excuse me. I’m sorry if this is a weird question, but do you fly this route often?” 

Not surprisingly, the flight attendant gives me a confused look. 

Me: “A week ago today, my sister and I flew to Texas. See, she had this bag of chips that was really inflated and—”

The flight attendant cracks up.

Flight Attendant: “Yes! I remember you! You were sitting over there! Any over-inflated bags today?”

Me: *Laughing* “No, none today. We didn’t get any snacks from the airport.”

Flight Attendant: “That’s okay! What can I get you?”

The flight attendant gives us a handful of cookies and pretzels for free!

Me: “Oh, no, really, it’s okay!”

Flight Attendant: “You were so nice on the last flight and so nice today. This is the least I can do!”

To that flight attendant, thank you for making me laugh and forget I was flying because flying is my least favorite thing to do. You helped start and end an amazing trip and that ended up being the last time we saw our dad before he passed away.