In the almost six years I’ve been publishing MCM I’ve never strayed this far off topic. Except for the annual April Fool’s day fun (consider yourself warned), this is all about stuff somehow related to managed care, health policy, insurance…
Try as I might, I just can’t come up with a link here. Except for the very very distant possibility of a workers comp claim.
So here’s what’s got my attention.
Just a few minutes ago, a flight attendant, fed up with a &^@&*(?! of a passenger, ran to the exit door, pulled the emergency escape hatch, inflated the slide, and jumped out of the plane.
Yes, the plane was on time, and no, it hadn’t been sitting on the tarmac broiling in the sun with backed up potties.
Fortunately, JetBlue 1052 was on the ground in New York [scroll to the bottom and read the comments; some are hilarious] when Steven Slater, the flight attendant in question, pulled the cord.
Wait, this gets better…
Turns out Mr Slater was reacting to a passenger who had jumped up just after the plane had landed, started to get his bag out (you’ve undoubtedly been on a plane with one of these jerks), refused to stop when Slater asked him to. In fact, the passenger’s bag fell out of the overhead and smacked Slater on his head.
Slater didn’t go nuts then – he actually asked the passenger for an apology. Instead of doing the right thing, the guy (ok, it might have been a woman, but we all know it wasn’t) cussed Slater out. Whereupon Slater got on the PA, screamed a few choice words (reportedly “To the passenger who called me a m—f–er, f— you!…I’ve been in the business 28 years. I’ve had it. That’s it”) over the squawk box, and exited the craft.
I kid you not.
Perhaps Mr Slater can claim work comp from an injury that discombobulated his sense of propriety…
Aug
9
That’s funny, I was just thinking about your April fools day pranks earlier today… I am a sucker who fell for it two years in a row… not again my friend!
Way to connect that story to work comp Joe
! I just read about it on CNN Money three minutes before your post came through the RSS. Great stuff.
It’s really a funny story…unless probably you witnessed it. I feel bad for the flight attendant who is charged now with keeping us safe, rather than comfortable like the good old days. On the other hand, airlines should take note that passengers (or as they refer to us…self loading cargo)are angry that we have to pay to have our luggage boarded where it belongs in the bottom of the plane. Instead, most companies don’t want their traveling employees to pay the luggage charge and the rest are angry over the charge so everyone is carrying everything on board and stowing it in the overheads and under seats. I’ve seen near fights break out between passengers when boarding because of the limited overhead space and some jerk wants to use the space for his or her coat (and yes women are as bad). I hope the injured flight attendant files a comp claim and the airline subrogates against the offending passenger!
Joe– I suspect that we can all expect events like this to become more common as everyone gets more and more stressed out in an economy where you have three jobs or none at all, where the only thing most of us can expect is more belt tightening, and where the grim news has no end in sight. This has a major bearing on the core topic of MCM– how do we manage the health of our fellow citizens when more stress and fewer resources collide head on? Al least Mr. Slater had an escape hatch. How fortunate for eveyone on the plane.