Optimistic Rebel

This story via Amy Gahran on Twitter:

sarahdopp: Grandma’s dying. I need a flight from SFO or OAK to BOS or MHT *right now*. Cant find anything that lands before 6am tomorrow. Can you? Help

I was flooded with messages. More sites to check, tips on how to approach and talk to airlines at the last minute, offers of frequent flier miles, specific research on possible flights, offers to help raise funds to pay for the expensive last minute ticket, ideas for other airports I could fly into, echoes to broader networks of people, and messages of love and support. A few people even started calling airlines on my behalf, asking which flights were already booked and what my other options were…

Looks as though airlines can’t react as well as friends of friends when it comes to helping someone in need. Social media tools like Twitter make it incredibly easy to be a good samaritan on the information superhighway optimistic about my generation.