mind.
Because her inner world was in such turmoil, she had no spare energy to
cope with the outer world, so she placidly followed the standard
post-crash program with her fellow passengers.
She was impressed by the web of emotional, psychological, and practical
support provided to survivors of Flight 246. Dubuque’s medical and
civil defense community-which obviously had planned for such an
emergency -responded swiftly and effectively. In addition
psychologists, counselors, ministers, priests, and a rabbi were
available to the uninjured passengers within minutes of their arrival at
the terminal. A large VIP lounge-with mahogany tables and comfortable
chairs upholstered in nubby blue fabric -had been set aside for their
use, ten or twelve telephone lines sequestered from normal airport
operations, and nurses provided to monitor them for signs of delayed
shock.
United’s employees were especially solicitous, assisting with local over
night accommodations and new travel arrangements, as quickly as possible
reuniting the uninjured with friends or relatives who had been
transported to various hospitals, and compassionately conveying word of
loved ones’ deaths. Their horror and grief seemed as deep as that of
the passengers, and they were shaken and remorseful that such a thing
could happen with one of their planes. Holly saw a young woman in a
United jacket turn suddenly and leave the room in tears, and all the
others, men and women alike, were pale and shaky. She found herself
wanting to console them, put an arm around them and tell them that even
the best-built and best-maintained machines were doomed to fail sooner
or later because human knowledge was imperfect and darkness was loose in
the world.
Courage, dignity, and compassion were so universally in evidence under
such trying circumstances that Holly was dismayed by the full-scale
arrival of the media. She knew that dignity, at least, would be an
early victim of their assault. To be fair, they were only doing their
job, the problems and pressures of which she knew too well. But the
percentage of reporters who could perform their work properly was no
greater than the percentage of plumbers who were competent or the
percentage of carpenters who could miter a doorframe perfectly every
time. The difference was that unfeeling, inept, or downright hostile
reporters could cause their subjects considerable embarrassment and, in
some cases, malign the innocent and permanently damage reputations,
which was a lot worse than a backed-up drain or mismatched pieces of
wood molding.
The whole spectrum of TV, radio, and print journalists swarmed into the
airport and soon penetrated even those areas where their presence was
normally restricted. Some were respectful of the survivors’ emotional
and mental condition, but most of them badgered the United employees
about “responsibility” and “moral obligation,” or hounded the survivors
to reveal their innermost fears and relive the recent horror for the
delectation of news consumers. Though Holly knew the drill and was
expert at fending them off, she was asked the same question half a dozen
times by four different reporters within fifteen minutes: “How did you
feel?” How did you feel when you heard it might be a crash landing? How
did you feel when you thought you were going to die? How did you feel
when you saw that some of those around you had died?
Finally, cornered near a large observation window that looked out on
arriving and departing flights, she blew up at an eager and expensively
coiffured CNN reporter named Anlock, who simply could not understand
that she was unflattered by his attentions. “Ask me what I saw, or ask
me what I think,” she told him. “Ask me who, what, where, why, and how,
but for God’s sake don’t ask me how I feel, because if you’re a human
being you’ve got to know how I feel. If you have any empathy at all for
the human condition, you’ve got to know.”
Anlock and his cameraman tried to back off, move on to other prey.
She was aware that most of the people in the crowded room had turned to
see what the commotion was about, but she didn’t care. She was not
going to let Anlock off that easily. She stayed with him: “You don’t