R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Flying on Southwest is interesting.  On the way home yesterday, I ended up next to a motorcycle “toughie” and his motorcycle mama. 

This guy had all the accessories… tattoos, facial hair, wallet on a chain, jeans and boots.  Well, he had just one boot actually, since his other leg was in a cast.  Turns out he fell off of a roof or something.  I suppose it may have had something to do with drinking, since he had 5 beers and a shot of liquor on the 2 hour flight from Houston to Phoenix.

His mama looked the part too, but seemed much more genteel and civilized than her man. Almost like she longed for a better life, but didn’t know where to find it.

What got me about the tough guy was his attitude – no respect for anyone.  Even before we were off the ground, he had already threatened to drag his mama by the hair up and down the length of the plane, all while kicking her with his good leg.  All this while professing his love for her and nuzzling her neck. I found myself wishing for the good ol’ days of “let’s get dressed up and proper to go flying…”

Our man’s behavior and attitude didn’t improve much throughout the flight, either. Ugh – as in “ugly”.

Finally, just after we landed, our man calls up his local contact to tell them that he and his mama had arrived and that they would soon be meeting with the recipient of his call at the usual restaurant for dinner.  When the recipient indicated some confusion as to where they would meet, Mr. Tough Guy responded with a stream of expletives we usually don’t hear on the plane and threats to break the @%$&!* legs if he didn’t get smart.  Then he closed out with “I love you son.” 

HUH???  That really got me – how can this guy who threatens his son, his girlfriend (who was now his caretaker, given that he was on crutches and just recovered from a 12-day coma in which he nearly died) be so abusive and claim to love someone all at the same time.

Where is the R-E-S-P-E-C-T?  In any business setting, we all behave much more civilized than this.  How does a guy – who was probably a regular kid like me and you get this way anyway?

I look around the workforce at PAS and I see RESPECT and DIVERSITY – I mean, we probably have 1 country represented per 2 or 3 employees.  Each with different value systems, beliefs and ethics.  But all with a common sense of respect.  I’m glad for that, because differences make life interesting.

And I think differences also make for more creativity, better customer service, healthier attitudes and generally make the world a better place to live.

Long live our differences!!!

May the best come out from all of us – at PAS anyway – as we go forth to serve our customers and bring value to the process industries!