Christchurch
We were due to drive to Christchurch the next morning. Dad had popped on the television after a long day of hiking. The news of a shooting at a mosque in Christchurch was impossible to miss.
What on earth? We couldn’t believe it. I thought we had left all that behind in the US, but it turns out that even in paradise evil lurks.
Despite being absolutely devastated I had no choice but to spring into action. There was no way we were going to drive to Christchurch the next day. That meant I needed to make a number of changes to our travel plans, and I needed to do so quickly.
I poured myself a tall Scotch and got to work. First off I called Air New Zealand. We were due to fly out of Christchurch two days later. The first representative told me it would cost a few hundred dollars to change our tickets. This came as quite a surprise given I had heard on the news that Air New Zealand was accommodating changes for passengers flying in and out Christchurch. Disgusted and disappointed I hung up and called back again. Unfortunately I got disconnected mid-call, and so I called back a third time.
I had a feeling from the instant I began chatting with Meena that she was going to take care of us. There was a distinct warmth in her voice that shone through the telephone line.
She put me on hold for long periods. Patiently I waited, imagining her battling it out with her superiors, and making a case for allowing us to change our flight.
I’ll never know what happened behind the scenes, but eventually she was able to get us onto a different flight out of Queenstown the next day without any additional costs.
A great weight was lifted.
I choked up as I thanked her profusely.
I was so emotionally exhausted that tears welled in my eyes. Meena had taken care of us as I had believed she would.
Luckily our Airbnb in Renwick was also available for us a night early. Another small miracle, espeically given it was a Saturday night. Our host Ange could not have made us feel more at home.
“I’ll get the wine chilled and ready!” she exclaimed.
My heart still aches for New Zealand. I’ve lived through tragedies before. I was in New York City on 9/11. I still feel shell shock when terrorist activities occur, even when they’re halfway across the world. When the Paris attacks happened in 2015 I was heartbroken. As a lifelong music lover, the fact that that shooting happened at a rock concert struck a deep chord in me. And then again in Vegas in 2017. Pure madness. With every one of these incidents my heart hurts more and more.
A few days later we saw that the Prime Minister of New Zealand had pledged to ban the kind of guns used in the shooting. Meanwhile, here in the US we are averaging a mass shooting nearly every day since the tragic Parkland shooting last year.
That shooting was way too close to home. I grew up one town over in Coral Springs. Most of my family were less than two miles away when it occurred. Mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, and my two darling nephews.
It’s incredibly sad that these events have become regular occurrences in today’s world. Thankfully, these most trying moments also have the ability to bring out the best in humanity. From small acts of kindness like Meena ensuring we could change our plans and travel safely, to the grander gesture taken by women across New Zealand who wore headscarves to show solidarity with the Christchurch victims, it is beautiful to know humankind has the capability to shine light even in the darkest times and places.
