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Los Angeles
TRUST
It's hard for women to wish for something. It's like they think they'll jinx it. That's a big mistake. You have to pay attention to your dreams.
Michele Huneven
I wanted to mail a couple dozen thank-you cards before spending three weeks in Nepal. I didn't have time to write them before I left home, so composing notes filled the hours of the early legs of my plane trip.
When I arrived at LAX airport in Los Angeles, I was proud of myself for connecting with friends and extended family before leaving the country for almost a month. But then an airport employee told me, "No mailboxes." They had been removed for security reasons. My trip came three months after September 11, 2001.
Though I appreciated the increased security measures, I felt frustrated. A national guardsman suggested I take a cab to the post office. I declined because I didn't want to risk missing my flight. I kept getting "no" as an answer to my mailbox question, yet I felt a persistent nudge to keep asking.
When queuing for my connecting flight to Bangkok, a customer service representative who was directing flow to the gates confirmed mine. His open energy and pleasant face encouraged me to ask once more about mailboxes at LAX.
"There are no mailboxes anywhere in the airport," he confirmed. "But if you'd like, I'll mail your cards right after I leave the terminal. I promised another passenger I'd mail this," he said, pulling an envelope from the pocket of his suit jacket. I hesitated. I had hoped that an airport employee would offer to mail my cards. Now that my wish had come true, I questioned it.
"Do you trust me?" he asked, reading my face and smiling. "If not, you can hand the cards to your airline counter representative."
"You promise?" I asked, handing him three hours worth of note writing.
"I promise."
To believe that we can have what we want is an act of trust - of others and ourselves.
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