Delta #003 from New York to London was eventful. I was too tired to notice. I was asleep as the wheels retracted. My sleep was deep, intense. Nothing registered until I heard the captain’s voice.
“This is your captain. It seems as if we have a problem. It is not serious for now. Our toilets were not properly serviced in New York. I am concerned so I am planning on making an unscheduled stop in St. John’s Newfoundland. We will be circling, burning off extra fuel. Please take your seats.”
The buzz in the back of the plane where I was sitting started immediately. I could not make out what people were saying but I could hear the muted whispers. For reasons that were unknown, the center of the loudest conversations seemed to be in the back three rows of the plane.
“Ladies and gentlemen. This is your senior flight attendant. We have been answering many questions over the past ten minutes. It seems that some, especially in the back of the plane, do believe what the captain has told us. Let me reassure you, the plane is fine. We just need our toilets emptied.”
My mind was buzzing. What did they know that I did not? The plane did not seem to have a problem. I could not imagine why anyone would leave without checking the toilets but then again, maybe they just forgot! What was the truth?
I wandered back to use the restroom when we finally landed. As I tried the first one, it was full! As I waited for the second one, the pilot came back dressed with his yellow reflection vest.
“Are the toilets that full?”
“Let me show you the gauges.” Pressing one button at the top the flight attendant’s seat, I noticed a gauge light up. It was borderline red! “Let’s check the second one.” It was solid red, going towards maximum. “We have a problem.”
I was listening to the truth. “In the course of listening to Paul, a great many Corinthians believed and were baptized.” (Acts 18.8)
