Sometimes a Smile Goes a Long Way

An article in the Tribune today talked about some 27 college students hired by Lindberg Field Airport as check point assistants. They are kind of like the Walmart greeters, if you will. This assistance program was the brain child of Airport officials with the help of the TSA.

The assistants provide smiling faces and courteous assistance to wary travelers, which apparently helps calm some passengers. Guess it's suppose to counteract the stone cold faces of TSA agents, bitter with their jobs due to having to deal with the endless flow of travelers who many, to this day, still don't realize there's a limit on how much liquid they can carry on planes. Or better yet, those passengers who didn't realize they needed some form of picture ID. Where do these people live, under a rock?

One of the assistance said smiling a lot and using best manners help. Wow, what a concept. Let's be courteous to each other and smile. No, I'm not knocking the program because I am all for putting in place programs that help us remind us to be courteous. Courtesy has been out of style for the past 2 decades and it's about time a larger effort is made to bring it back. Hell, if bell bottoms, big Afros and ugly 60's/70's clothes can come back into style, by God, so can Courtesy! I say we bring back those tv programs I remember when I was a kid that taught us to be nice to each other, not to litter, etc. Remember those? Manners have been so instilled in me as a kid that I still do certain things without thinking about it.

So today, do something courteous that you normally wouldn't do out of habit. Even if it's just to wish someone a happy holidays.