We lost an engine

From Life is a Joke, 100 Life Lessons by John and Gordon Javna.  

—5— The Big Picture

“To change ourselves effectively, we first had to change our perceptions.”

—Steven Covey

A few minutes into a morning flight from Boston to Chicago, the passengers were startled by a sudden jolt. The captain came on the intercom and announced, “No need for alarm, folks. We lost an engine, but that just means we’ll be an hour late getting to Chicago.”

The passengers grumbled, but then settled in for the longer flight . . . except for the guy in seat 12D. “Oh, great,” he said loudly. “I’d better not miss my 3:00 p.m. meeting!”

A short while later there was another jolt. “Nothing to worry about,” said the captain. “We lost another engine, but that just means we’ll be two hours late.”

Again, the passengers took the news quietly . . . except for the guy in 12D. “Outrageous!” he exclaimed. “As soon as we land, I’m calling customer service!”

A few minutes later there was another jolt, and the captain announced, “Uh . . . sorry to tell you, folks, our third engine just quit. But don’t worry—we’ve still got one good one, and we’ll still make it to Chicago. The only thing is, we’re going to be three hours late.”

Still everyone remained calm . . . except for 12D. “If I miss this meeting,” he said loudly enough for everyone on the entire plane to hear, “this airline will be hearing from my lawyer!”

Ten minutes later there was an even bigger jolt. “Oh my God!” shouted the captain, “we just lost engine number four!”

“Well, this is just great!” the guy in 12D grumbled. “Now we’ll be up here all day!”