I spoke at a conference last week in Montana. The Governor’s Conference on Workers’ Comp, held this year in Billings, MT, is an annual event that I have had the honor of speaking at several times. It is a great group, where their western hospitality makes one instantly feel at home.
But this missive isn’t about the conference, rather an incident I experienced in my travels that reminds us of the decency of mankind, as well as a compassion for others that remains in a sometimes-turbulent society. Getting to Billings from Sarasota, FL is not the simplest of things. For me it involved 12 hours of travel time with two separate layovers and 3 different airplanes. It was on that first layover, in that delightful aviation mecca of Atlanta, that this incident occurred.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is a massive place, with 2 terminals and 7 concourses. An underground train system shuttles passengers between those concourses with relative efficiency. A walkway runs parallel with the train system, giving passengers the option of walking between concourses if they choose. The length of the entire system is over ½ a mile. Normally a commute between concourses only takes a few minutes.
Unfortunately, last Wednesday wasn’t normal. As I came off the long escalator that takes you to the underground transit tunnel, I was happy to see a train open and waiting. It was crowded, but I managed to squeeze my dainty frame into an open spot. Within about 60 seconds, however, I realized something wasn’t right. Some people, who had boarded ahead of me, were squeezing their way through the mass of people to leave the train. And the train didn’t seem to be going anywhere. That is when a passing passenger paused to inform us that the trains were down and wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
As (mis)fortune would have it, I had landed at Concourse A, and my connecting flight was at Concourse E. I realized I had a bit of a walk ahead of me, but was lucky that I had time, and the walkway is usually wide open and easy to navigate.
Except, today there were thousands of people with the same problem. The normally quiet underground walkway had become a bustling cauldron of stress, with fretful people suddenly worried about connections that just a few moments earlier had not been a concern. I texted an Atlanta-based friend about the issue, telling him “It’s Armageddon down here.”
On the path to my destination, my Apple Watch notified me it had detected a potential workout and asked if it should track it. I accepted, as I need all the exercise credit I can get, even if it was the end of days. I met a nice older couple trying to keep up with their traveling group. All were headed to Nairobi, and they were worried about missing their flight. At least the walk moved them much closer to their final destination. At almost every concourse intersection sat a train with open doors, holding bewildered passengers wondering why they weren’t going anywhere. By this time, of course, public announcements were being made that the trains were expected to be moving in 30 minutes or so.
It wasn’t until I arrived at my connecting gate that I learned the reason the trains were down. Another passenger told me that a woman had collapsed on one of the trains, and that he had seen EMT’s frantically working on her, as an apparent traveling partner stood anxiously by. Obviously when one train has to be held, all the trains stop moving.
It is a terrific example in our society that life matters, and no matter the disruption that might ensue, our system values protecting and caring for others over all else. There are societies where that may not be the case. In China a number of years ago, a man upset by being held up in traffic by a person threatening to jump from a bridge, left his vehicle to walk up the bridge and push the jumper off (he was arrested for his actions). And of course, even here in the US, some people are not so magnanimous.
Years ago, out of college, I worked in restaurant management. One day, a woman had a medical event and collapsed in our lady’s room. We called 911, and they responded quickly. The paramedics parked their bus near the front door, blocking a few customers cars. A woman, who had a meeting that was apparently far more important than the well-being of the fallen woman, insisted I tell the paramedics to stop what they were doing and move their vehicle. And she read me the riot act when I refused to do so.
Surprising to say, but I still slept well that night, even if she might have missed her precious meeting.
Caring and empathy are critical for successful relationships and crisis solutions. Shutting down an entire train system to help one person in need is a demonstration of a society’s care and compassion. It is of course a lesson we can apply to our own industry in workers’ comp. Understanding the needs of those in our care means sometimes taking actions that are not the easiest. Not the most convenient. And at times may inconvenience others. But we do what we must, because it is just and it is right.
Because as a society, compassion is essential to success. At least, that is my train of thought, so to speak…