Sometimes there's big drama, and one is nearby, but
not part of it. I love when I realize if you were making a
movie of a real life event, my role would be extra. I'm just "fill in
those seats with
people, we don't want them empty."
Teller and I were on a SouthWest flight
to LA. I was dozing and woke up to an announcement over
the PA that they
needed a doctor. An Asian guy about Doogie Howser's age
walked up. Things started happening fast. They grabbed the biggest guy who
was close to them
(it would have been me, but I didn't get the part, I was
just an extra) who picked up this person from the seat. The stewardesses
were on those in-air phones to doctors on the ground, and they had on rubber gloves. I could see
the flight attendant flop sweating.
They then asked for RN's and two more people got up and
went to the front of the plane to help. Man, the plane was seriously vibing
out. Then they
asked over the PA for someone who spoke Mandarin Chinese.
I asked Teller
how long before they needed a juggler and a magician. But,
they never did, we were extras.
Then it got really cool. The plane just started booking.
I mean, I've never felt that before, it was like we were in a car with a
teenager who just floored it. I mean, we started going a lot faster and
heading down. The PA announced that we were going to have to land
to get medical assistance. Two off duty pilots started collecting trash
and doing that work. We were going so fast and heading down. The flight
attendants stayed standing up and so did the medical/Mandarin crew.
We didn't even make it to LA, we landed in Ontario and we landed fast with
firetrucks and stuff.
They took the guy off and we heard from the off-duty pilots
that his heart had stopped, but now he was sitting up and doing fine. We
refueled and headed back into the air for LAX. It was serious in-air
drama and we weren't part of it. We were just atmosphere.
I bet I could see my whole
life as just background for the real adventure, and it
would probably be
good for me.
