Hitchhiking the Hell Out of Holiday Travel

Post offices, DMVs, holiday travel: such are the makings of my mental undoings. At 4:30 yesterday morning, the convenience of airport check-in kiosks was lost on me. The computer screen read "FLIGHT CANCELED. Would you like to be placed on tomorrow night’s standby list?” No, I would not. I would like to scream, then teleport home.

My sympathies to those of you who are flying this weekend. May you stomach the crowds, ignored questions and food court hot dogs with strength and courage. I was trying to get from New York to Chicago to my parents’ house near Moline, Ill. Snowstorms continue to derail travel plans in all three cities. At LaGuardia I sat next to a man, Brian, who commiserated with my frustrations. Three failed standby lists and one luckily-booked ticket later, I managed to get to O’Hare. Brian had snagged the last standby seat on my flight and upon de-boarding, saw my pitiful reaction to the Departures monitor: "FLIGHT CANCELED."

He offered to give me a lift closer to home. “Let me drive you halfway. I have nothing to do and you can do something good for someone else in return.” I didn’t hesitate. Desperation and homesickness trump good judgment. Brian drove me an hour and a half past his Chicago suburb, to a gas station in Dixon, Ill., where my dad could afford to take the time to meet us.

In 90 minutes, here’s what I learned about Brian:

He refused my gas money, but did let me buy him a king-sized Snickers and a Diet Pepsi for the drive home. (The Breakfast of Champions, indeed.) Again, he only asked that I do something good for someone else.

I am not a fundamentally changed person because of Brian. I have not been touched by an altruism that has me convent-bound. But in addition to his thank-you note, I found myself writing a few more to friends for whom I’m especially grateful. I've decided to see my lost luggage as a welcome excuse to lounge around in my sister’s sweats and slippers. I'm even considering finishing my shopping before Christmas Eve so that I can actually honor my mom’s request that we all stay home that day.

Let it be known that I discourage you from offering/taking rides to/from strangers and that the trailer from the movie Pay It Forward was enough to turn me off from the expression forever; but the idea that goodness has a domino effect isn’t really so cheesy or idealistic. In fact, it's pretty damn cool.

So in the spirit of Brian, my patron saint of winter travel, I wish you a happy holiday complete with on-time departures and random acts of contagious kindness.