Have you ever wondered what you would do if you were on a plane that crashed or the boat you were on sank? Even though I am a bit of a nervous flier, I always thought that I would be like Lara Croft or Nikita calm, bold, determined and resourceful. You know, the girl who used survival techniques to save herself, her fellow passengers and basically the whole day.
But, I guess you don’t know how you will react until you are in that situation. Recently I was on a flight to Cape Town, a flight I have taken a number of times. The flight started off as usual with the safety and welcome speech from the flight attendants. Then the plane made its way to the runway (all very normal).
Just as the plane took off the ground, I hear a loud cracking sound above me. I immediately closed my eyes, wrapped my arms and whilst rocking like a baby I repeatedly thought: “please let it be ok- please let it be ok”. When I finally had the courage to open my eyes, I discovered that the oxygen makes had dropped from their slot in my row.
Did I reach for them?
Nope.
Finally, the flight attendant came by laughed and said: “I’m so sorry mam; I hope you didn’t get too big a fright”. She then proceeded to casually slap the masks back into their compartment, smile brightly and say: “these things happen you know”.
Well, thank you very much oh kind flight attendant, it doesn’t get anymore comforting than that!
In the safety speech, they always say: “please secure your own mask before helping others.”
Turns out, I’m not Lara Croft and I’m certainly not Nikita.
I’m…“The Others.”
Note to Self:
In the event of an emergency or loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will drop above you. Calmly and I repeat calmly reach for the mask and place it over your nose and mouth.
Breathe normally.
Remember…God only helps those who help themselves! 🙂