W10: Delta Airlines Delay And The Magic Of Music

There are few things more frustrating than paying a lot of money for a commercial flight in order to get somewhere by a specific time, only to find out the flight is delayed. And then, delayed again. Very quickly tempers can flare, and passengers can start taking their frustrations out on one another and the flight crew. Luckily for an airline full of passengers in Atlanta a few weeks ago, there was someone onboard the Delta Airlines flight who knew exactly how to turn the mood around with a few tunes from the instrument case above his head. Not only did it turn people’s moods around, but it put just about everyone in the holiday spirit.

Meet Wayne Hoey, leader and saxophonist for The Wayne Hoey Big Band.

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W10: DELTA AIRLINES DELAY AND THE MAGIC OF MUSIC

HAPPY WEDNESDAY EVERYONE.…

MOST OF US HAVE BEEN THERE. SITTING MOTIONLESS ON A TARMAC AT SOME RANDOM AIRPORT, IN A HOT, STUFFY AIRPLANE. THERE’S A KID CRYING TWO ROWS UP. THE PERSON BEHIND YOU ACCIDENTALLY KICKS YOUR SEAT. YOU REPOSITION THE AIR VENT TO GET A LITTLE COOLER AIR ON YOUR FACE, BUT IT JUST DOESN’T SEEM TO WORK. YOU GLANCE AT THE TIME AND DO THE MATH…TRYING TO ANTICIPATE WHEN YOU’LL FINALLY REACH YOUR DESTINATION. MINUTE BY MINUTE YOUR PLANS DETERIORATE. AND THEN, YOU HEAR THE CAPTAIN ON THE LOUDSPEAKER…. EVERYONE QUIETS DOWN AND SITS UP…. BUT THE CAPTAIN’S TONE IS OFF….UHHHGH… MORE BAD NEWS.

THIS IS A STORY ABOUT THE RIGHT PERSON BEING IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME. IT HAPPENED ON A DELTA AIRLINES FLIGHT, SITTING ON A TARMAC, STUFFED FULL OF FRUSTRATED TRAVELLERS DURING THE HOLIDAYS, SEEMINGLY BOUND FOR NOWHERE….AND HOW ONE MAN COMPLETELY TURNED THE SITUATION AROUND WITH NOTHING MORE THAN A FEW NOTES.

EPISODE

LAST WEEK AT ATLANTA’S HARTSFIELD-JACKSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, THE BUSIEST AIRPORT IN THE WORLD, THERE WAS THE USUAL INFLUX OF HOLIDAY TRAFFIC.

ONE DELTA FLIGHT, FILLED TO CAPACITY, SAT ON THE TARMAC.  PASSENGERS GRUMBLED WHEN THE ANNOUNCEMENT WAS MADE THAT THERE WAS A DELAY, BUT WHAT THEY DIDN’T KNOW WAS THAT THIS WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF THE WAIT. AS THE MINUTES TICKED BY, KIDS SCREAMED, PASSENGERS EXHANGED FRUSTRATED WORDS WITH FLIGHT ATTENDANTS, AND THE TENSION IN THE CABIN AIR STEADILY ELEVATED.

FINALLY, AFTER WHAT SEEMED LIKE HOURS, THE CAPTAIN ANNOUNCED THAT, BECAUSE OF THE DELAY, THE CREW WOULD NEED TO BE SWAPPED OUT DUE TO CREW REST REGULATIONS, AND, UNFORTUNATELY, THE INCOMING CREW WAS STUCK IN ATLANTA TRAFFIC.

IMMEDIATELY YOU COULD HEAR PEOPLE GASP.  KIDS SCREAMED LOUDER. PATIENCE GREW THINNER. PASSENGERS WERE FORCED TO DEAL WITH AT LEAST ANOTHER HOUR DELAY, ALL FOR JUST A 32 MINUTE FLIGHT TO AUGUSTA, GEORGIA. IF PASSENGERS WOULD HAVE JUST DRIVEN, THEY’D HAVE BEEN THERE BY NOW.

ONE OF THE PASSENGERS WAS WAYNE HOEY, WHO SAT WITH HIS WIFE JOSIE, AND THEY RECEIVED THE NEWS ABOUT LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. IT WAS A FRUSTRATING END TO A FUN TRIP UP TO DETROIT TO SEE THE MOTOWN MUSEUM. WAYNE LOOKED UP A THE HANDLE ON THE CASE IN THE OVERHEAD BIN ABOVE HIM AND HE HAD AN IDEA.

WAYNE WAS A MUSICIAN. A SAXOPHONIST. AND NOT JUST ANY SAXOPHONIST, HE WAS THE LEADER OF THE WAYNE HOEY BIG BAND FROM AUGUSTA. HE WAS ALSO A RETIRED MIDDLE SCHOOL MUSIC TEACHER AND ARMY VETERAN WHO HAD PLAYED SAX IN THE U.S. ARMY BAND FOR 20 YEARS, HAVING TRAVELLED THE WORLD BOOSTING TROOP MORALE DURING THE VIETNAM WAR.

WAYNE CALLED FOR A FLIGHT ATTENDANT AND WHISPERED SOMETHING IN HER EAR. A FEW MOMENTS LATER, AFTER TALKING WITH THE CAPTAIN, THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT RETURNED AND WHISPERED SOMETHING BACK.

WAYNE STOOD UP, TOOK THE CASE FROM THE OVERHEAD BIN, AND ASSEMBLED A SAXOPHONE.

AT JUST THE RIGHT MOMENT, WHEN THE AIR WAS THICK WITH FRUSTRATION AND COMPLAINING, WAYNE BEGAN TO PLAY.

THE ENTIRE PLANE FELL SILENT AND JAWS COLLECTIVELY DROPPED.

HE STARTED WITH CHRISTMAS CAROLS. WAYNE WALKED UP AND DOWN THE ISLE, SHOWCASING HIS TALENT, AND ENTERTAINING THE PASSENGERS.

HE WENT FROM CAROLS TO OTHER SONGS, AND FOR THE KIDS ON THE PLANE, HE EVEN PLAYED BABY SHARK.

COMPLETELY DISTRACTED, THE PASSENGERS DIDN’T NOTICE WHEN THE NEW CREW ARRIVED, AND BEFORE THEY KNEW IT THEY WERE BEING ASKED TO SIT DOWN IN THEIR SEATS AND BUCKLE UP SO THEY COULD TAXI TO THE RUNWAY.

WAYNE CONCLUDED HIS SET AND RECEIVED A ROUND OF APPLAUSE, THEN SAT BACK DOWN NEXT TO JOSIE AND PREPARED FOR TAKEOFF.

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT TALENT THAT STOPS US ALL IN OUR TRACKS. IT’S WHY WE STOP TALKING AND GATHER AROUND SOMEONE PERFORMING IN THE STREET. IT’S WHY SHOWS LIKE AMERICA’S GOT TALENT ARE SO POPULAR. WHEN IT COMES TO MUSIC, A TALENTED ARTIST, WITH JUST A FEW NOTES, CAN CHANGE OUR MOOD AND MAKE US FORGET OUR WORRIES IN AN INSTANT.

ON THIS ONE DELAYED DELTA AIRLINES FLIGHT IN DECEMBER, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BUSIEST AIRPORT IN THE WORLD, FULL OF PASSENGERS AT THE END OF THEIR ROPES, STRUGGLING TO FIND THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT, ALL IT TOOK WAS AN OLD ARMY MUSICIAN STANDING UP, LIFTING A SAXOPHONE, AND MAKING A DIFFICULT SITUATION MEMORABLE WITH HIS GIFT OF MUSIC.

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/saved-by-a-saxophone-delayed-flight-gets-unexpected-holiday-cheer/

https://augustagoodnews.com/saxophone-player-provides-impromptu-concert-during-flight-delay/