After the Texas primary and now that we know the two parties’ presidential nominees, we might all be enjoying this break from political adver–and while I was typing that, political ads for the general election started.
We could all use a pick-me-up.
We now live in a society where a Make-A-Wish event is considered a pick-me-up compared to arguing about politics. The nonprofit gathered a bunch of kids at American Airlines headquarters [What kid wouldn’t want a tour of a corporate campus?!].
About two dozen kids were told they were getting a trip somewhere.
I talked to the chief executive of Make-A-Wish North Texas before they made the announcement. In journalism, we must protect our sources, so naturally, we did the interview in a large room crowded with the families.
These kids have been going through some stuff, so she says a trip like this can give them some time to act like a kid… and parents get time away from paperwork, health insurance administration, and the joy of getting a balance bill with “How much you got?” in the amount due.
Loyal Scaiaholics will recall a few years ago, American let me tag along on their Snowball Express flight to pick up Gold Star families. One of the folks from the airline says a lot of flight crews volunteer for trips like this because the environment is more laid back than a 6:24 departure for Newark.
We all know kids love boarding passes, so you can understand those moments of tension when they realize, “Wait, MCO is the airport code for Orlando!”
One of the moms says her son calls Disney World, “the House of Mickey Mouse,” which, frankly, sounds like a cooler name.
The whole family will go on the trip, so she says it’ll be a chance for her, her husband and both kids a chance to blow off steam.
Sure, waiting at the gate is the most exciting part of any trip to the airport, but American is promising an epic party.
Make-A-Wish explains this is something fun for the kids, a break for the parents, and a feel-good thing for the volunteers, but this turns into a butterfly effect situation, where maybe the kids feel better, so they’re smiling when they see Goofy. Then Goofy feels better the next time he goes to his turtleneck guy. Then Goofy’s tailor is nicer to the guy working the drive-thru when he stops for chicken nuggets on the way home… and ultimately, maybe this leads to some guy clear across the country deciding not to argue about politics with a bunch of strangers in a comments section.
She explains it more concisely, though.
