On the morning of a recent trip to the West Coast, I was completely exhausted when my alarm went off at the shocking hour of 4:45am. I showered, but I felt like I was just going through the motions—I was still half asleep. I was downstairs and groggy when my slow-moving Uber arrived. He didn’t seem like he was in too much of a rush either as he slid out of the front seat to carefully put my bag in the empty trunk. Many cars passed us in the left lane getting to the airport but I was too tired to even complain. When I arrived at departures, the line at TSA pre-check was unusually long. So I waited patiently while the man in front of me emptied all six of the pockets from his cargo pants but forgot to put his belt through security. So of course he buzzed, and had to backtrack, unbuckle, and walk through again while the mounting line of business travelers behind us tapped their feet waiting. I stood completely still.
I eventually meandered through security and down the escalator, past the retail hub, dragging my way too heavy carryon. But my gate was so far from the Delta Sky Lounge at JFK that I decided to forgo the freebies (and clean bathroom) in favor of two eggs over easy closer to my boarding door. (The bathroom choice was a big mistake. Huge.) But thank you Corporate America for feeding me via the magic green plastic card. The two sunny eggs did wake me up.
When I finally arrived at my aisle seat, I was prepared with my airplane use only cheap wired earbuds with the skinny, always tangled cord. I pushed all the buttons on my bright square seat screen to review the entertainment selections. Unsurprisingly, none of the 237 movies seemed appealing to me. I yawned deeply as I swiped to again review the choices I had already vetoed, until I came upon a movie I saw eons ago—Dead Poets Society. And I decided that since I was only yoke woken and already familiar with the film, the background noise would most likely lull me right back into a restful slumber. So of course that didn’t happen at all.
I was immediately enthralled just seeing Robin Williams act again! And I’d forgotten what a beloved coming of age story this was. For those of you who missed it when this truly wonderful movie premiered back in 1989, Robin Williams stars as a new English professor named Mr. Keating at an all-boys prep school in some snooty Northeastern town. He tells the boys that they may refer to him as O Captain! My Captain!– a reference from a Walt Whitman poem. The characters are mostly clean-cut boys. But the parents and other teachers are hell bent on tradition, rules, and shaping these young minds into exactly what is expected of them, namely not letting them think for themselves. So when Mr. Keating introduces the unorthodox concept of “carpe diem– seize the day!” the boys are spellbound.
The lads restart the defunct Dead Poets Society– a super-secret club where they read poetry, speak their minds, and explore their passions. What follows is an inspiring story of incredible bravery, young love, bonding, and of course tragedy. The script and portrayals were so moving that I found myself quietly weeping from seat 22C. Not enough to cause a scene mind you, but a lovely flight attendant did stop by check on me. Don’t you just love how engrossed you can become in a movie? I totally forgot I was even on a plane. O Captain! My Captain!– please continue flying this bird while I pull myself together!
I found no other movie for the rest of that six plus hours journey, but I kept replaying scenes from Dead Poets in my mind and that somehow sustained me. How amazingly lucky those boys were to have had a mentor break them out of that stymied parental tunnel vision thinking, teach them to embrace a little emotional latitude, and promote self-discovery and growth!
When I finally deplaned, I held back from saluting the Captain who peeked out from the cockpit to wave to the exiting passengers. (“There’s that crier from 22C,” I’m sure the flight attendant was thinking as she waved a hearty buh-bye as I passed.) But shouldn’t you acknowledge a person who gets you out of your comfort zone (Earth!) and takes you to a new place– in this case 36,000 feet and brings you safely to a new destination (Los Angeles) for you to reevaluate your situation?
My takeaway, besides a blinding cramp in my left leg, is that we can all do with a little more Captain-like thinking in our lives. (I bet you have a little Captain in ya!) So what are you waiting for? Carpe diem!
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