Thanks for helping a stranger. The Golden Rule never goes out of style.

This post also helps me personally as I just lost my job because I refused to let my boss change me from being helpful at work.

That afternoon, I was doing my job, a multi task, for sure. As I was checking in passengers for the next flight (a 130 passenger B737), I was also finishing up a task not completed by the morning shift. First flight of the day cancelled and by the time those who could be rebooked on the next flight took off, their bags had not been rerouted with them. The am agents did not reroute the bags to travel with them and the ramp agents didn't coordinate that, either. So, between checkins with only one other agent at the counter (not helping to reroute the bags), I pulled PNRs to check what flight the passenger was rerouted on and checked flight schedules to fill out manual reroute tags to get them to their destination, noting whether or not they had already arrived and filed a delayed bag claim and printing copies for followup with comments in the records later.

I began to checkin a mother holding a baby that I guessed to be 10-12 months old. Mom asked if we sold strollers, but I replied that we didn't and she asked if any place in the airport did. Baby was obviously getting a bit heavy. I finished checkin and after weighing her bag and tagging it, offered to take her bag to TSA for her, a bit of a walk in the other direction (least I could do since I doubted she was going to find a stroller to buy in the airport). I thought since I have about 15 bags to take over with the reroutes, taking a bag for a passenger should be alright. She thanked me and left. I routed bags again, called ops to inform them the computer would show fewer bags to load than what the actual total would be due to the reroute. I took her bag, took other bags, two at a time, and asked my coworker if he could take the rerouted bags that the gate assist agent had handled before leaving for the gate down on the switchoff. He acted like he would but then he didn't. I continued to take the bags until I noticed the 30minute cutoff and the other bags would need to be rerouted for the NEXT flight. I began to work on those, too. Made mental note of a flight coming in soon.

Went and met bags coming in on the carousel for an inbound flight that had landed shortly before and then loaded unclaimed bags on the cart and started toward my counter pushing the cart through the crowd. My boss suddenly showed up and said he wanted to talk to me. I asked him what about the cart and he told me what he had to say was more important than the cart and the bags. He then began to ask me loudly in front of the security checkpoint if I had taken a bag down (to TSA). I tried to reply when he asked me again (loudly) if I had taken a bag down. I politely asked him if we could NOT have this discussion in a public place and could we go back into the office to talk. He agreed and as quickly as he could shut the door he jumped right back into the questioning. I told him I had taken quite a few bags down to TSA because I had been working on the reroute. He said were you working on a reroute or taking bags down and I told him for clarification that I would not lie, that I had been working on the reroute but, yes, I had taken a bag down to TSA for a passenger holding a 10month old baby. I was then told I would be written up and then what would happen next and then I could be terminated. I told him I could not accept being written up for helping someone because I felt it was important to stay helpful. In other words, I couldn't change from who I was in the performance of my job, which is to be helpful. I told him I did not short the counter by leaving for a moment down to TSA but he was not to be denied in his pursuit of his authority over me. I told him I would have to resign before I could change and deny help to someone. In the context of adding one bag to the total of bags I was taking to TSA, I had hoped he would understand but he refused. I told him I would need to call my husband and check if he wanted me to resign under the circumstances and he told me to call my husband, right then. I did, and my husband said to resign, that the environment was not condusive for my desire to work hard and do right. I pointed out I would lose my flight benefits that were so helpful to me with my daughter's problems, and he said he understood. Very shortly after I hung up, the boss came back and asked me what did my husband say and I told him. He reached his arm out and said to give him my badge. I told him I would like to finish my shift out as I wouldn't make any money if I left right then. He agreed and told the supervisor to collect my badge at the end of my shift.

About 24 years ago, I took my first flight to Germany to join my military husband for his tour over there. My daughter was 10months old, didn't walk, and I had numerous carryons (pre 9/11, of course) to carry along with my daughter to the gate. I needed help that day and I have needed help before. I have often been blessed with help, whether with a flat tire on the road or any number of incidents in my life including while traveling, where I alone was not sufficient for the task.

I trust God to show me where my next job will be. I hope it will be something that doesn't require me to question who I am and allows me to be the person He made me to be.

Thanks for reading....