A Philosophical Slott Report Entry
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF®
IRA Analyst
Trapped. For two nights in July, I slept on the floor at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport – a victim of the mass Delta computer outage. Booking a hotel after midnight (when the final cancellation hit) was not worth the commute or early morning TSA re-entry trouble. Delays and stand-by forced travelers to remain on site in case of last-minute seat availability. Rental car companies claimed to be out of vehicles. Not knowing the full magnitude of the disruption, I trusted the airline to figure things out. As a back-up plan, I bought a second one-way ticket on the first flight out on Day 3 to secure my seat.
And then that flight was canceled.
Trust was broken. Confidence lost. Frustration and rage bubbled over. Disgusted travelers joined forces to organize their own transportation. Some booked long-haul Ubers. Others pooled funds to rent 16-seat passenger buses. With the help of another couple I met at the gate, I finally secured a rental car, and the three of us drove 5 hours to our final destination in Northeast Florida.
In retrospect, my eyes were opened. We slog through our days and weeks, sticking to our schedules, maintaining routines. Get up at the same time, drive to work the same way, follow the same exercise program, eat similar meals each week. Eventually, the daily pathway becomes so comfortable that it is difficult to imagine anything different. We trundle along this wide routine road with little to no concern of being knocked off course.
I now realize that our “daily routine path” is not so wide. In fact, it is as narrow as an Olympic balance beam. One nudge, one little misstep, and a fall is imminent. One trip, one alteration, and your routine can not only be disrupted, but life can be sent spinning in a completely different direction. Case in point: I was minding my own business, traveling home from a financial advisor conference, looking forward to spending time with my family over the weekend…
And I got shoved off my balance beam in Atlanta.
I met an attorney who pointed out some features on the Delta app that I was unaware of. (I hope she made it back to Florida soon thereafter.) Late one night, I showed a father and his adolescent son how riding in the first car of the underground PlaneTrain offers a neat view of the tunnel out the front window. (I hope they made it to France.) I hunkered down for the night on the carpet a few feet away from a woman who used sheets of salvaged cardboard to make her “bed” more comfortable, and said “Good night” after she said the same to me. (I hope she made it to the Philippines.) And I shared a long ride in a rental car from Atlanta to Jacksonville with a wonderful couple whom I never would have met had it not been for the disruption of our routines. (Sorry their ski vacation plans were canceled.) We might meet up for dinner sometime, and I will happily introduce them to my wife.
So, what’s the point of this Slott Report entry? Get your affairs in order – financial, retirement savings, personal, etc. Recognize that our daily “routine roads” are nowhere near as wide as we might think they are. Talk to people. And listen. Don’t waste a day. Appreciate friends and family and all you have. Help others, and know that when things get really sideways, people will help you. Be open to new experiences, and be aware that the paths we walk are narrow. Balanced on a pinhead. Opportunity and chaos stride shoulder to shoulder with each of us. A disruptive nudge into their arms could be right around the corner.