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I had a little excitement with each leg of my journey to Little Rock this month.

First, the flight didn’t fly; therefore, there were two long lines before a counter while two Delta ladies tried to reschedule the stranded passengers. Each lady was taking almost a half-hour with each person. Not only were they checking multiple Delta flights but other airlines and cities. They were even helping each other with alternate routes.

It was sincere work on their part to help us. The folks in line were patient and even good-natured. Each of us knew when our turn came they would be doing everything they could possibly do for us.

Second, I’ll be 81 years old this November. I have had a hip replacement. I do not dye my hair; it just hasn’t turned white or even much gray. So, I do not look my age. To navigate flight changes, I ask for assistance even though it would appear I do not require it.

We were a little slow getting out of Little Rock to Atlanta. The connections were tight, but the gates for arrival and departure were close, so I figured there should be no problem. Of course, there was!

The wheelchair guy was a bit slow, and I’m being kind. The gates had been changed. He insisted on taking care of another wheelchair lady who told him she wasn’t in any hurry. So there we are, each in a chair, and he seems to have no clue what to do next or where to go. I was running out of time!

So I jumped out of the chair, and I was struggling to grab the handle of my pull bag when this tall, handsome pilot and his first mate came to my rescue. He almost sounded like John Wayne –– “I’ll take care of you, little lady.”

The pilot sent the first mate to hold the gate for me once he figured out the new concourse and gate.

He practically ran the corridors pushing the wheelchair. He made sure I knew the wheelchair guy was not a Delta employee.

The flight attendants couldn’t have been nicer. I did not get my rescuer’s name, but he told me he intended to report this incident. He was tired of folks missing flights because of the kind of incompetence he had observed too often.

Third, my seatmate moved out of his aisle seat to the window seat to save time and get me situated so we could take off. He endured a hump on the floor under his left leg but said it didn’t bother him.

He was a FedEx pilot returning from a flight himself. When I told him how impressed I was by all the kindness and consideration from all the Delta folks, he said, “Yes, that’s their reputation.”

You are kind and customer-oriented or you don’t work for Delta. I surely believe that!

— Ellen Day, Greensboro