Little Bobby
A few weeks ago when I was working out of Southwest Florida Regional Airport, I came across a situation I will never forget and was thankful I was there at the right place and time.
It was a long day for me, and I was waiting on a flight for a group to come in at 11:28pm, to be exact. As time went on, so did the weather up north. The winter storms began to brew even harder and the fog here in Florida started to thicken. My flight was then delayed until 1:15 am, so I had time to hang out and watch a little Netflix.
So as I sat upstairs in the airport, in a nice quiet place off to the side, a young woman, clearly drunk, a young girl, maybe 14, and a baby, who looked to be around 9 months old, show up. Trailing behind is a woman cop on her Segway not looking too happy.
I sat there for quite some time, practically 45 minutes, and could not help but to listen because they physically were less than three feet from where I sat. I heard everything and it's sad to see how our children are being raised. Specifically in this circumstance.
What was happening was this young and clearly drunken mother, who may have been about 20 herself, just recently got off a plane and her boyfriend who was also in the same condition, ended up taking off with not only the keys to the car, but the baby bag with all the baby's needs. Food, diapers, blanket, toys, everything. Thankfully the little guy had a cozy jammies on, but knowing his fate really bothered me.
The cop was a tough, yet nice lady. During that time, the drunken mom was on the phone asking her boyfriend to return, but he was scared and too drunk himself. He thought he would be arrested if he came back with the keys. But the main issue was getting the baby bag, the keys to the car, and the car-seat to get home. Ubers do not supply car seats, so that was out. The cop asked her to tell him he was not going to be arrested unless he gets behind that wheel. Many cops were outside the airport trying to track down the guy, but to no avail. And the young girl who tagged along, holding the baby was too young to drive.
Finally, after one hour of drunken stupidity and the beginning or her now rude behavior, I had to step in. All I knew is this situation was going absolutely nowhere.
I kindly asked the cop if I could interject. I could tell she was at her wits end. She told me to go ahead. They also didn't have much help there at the airport that day either. The government shutdown was in effect and it clearly showed throughout.
Downstairs was a taxi service that had car seats and we needed to get this little guy home. It was well past 12:30am now and the cops had nothing more they could do. I praise them because they tried every alternative for her, including friends or family to come get them, but it was hopeless. So I offered her a ride home.
I headed down to the MBA service there at the airport, the cop escorted the now "snappy" mom, along with the young teen, who obviously had to hold the baby at all times. I explained to the lady inside curbside service what was going on and that I was going to pay for this baby to get home. The mom approached me, now with two cops involved, and I asked her to give her home address.
Go figure, the address had to be Venice. Either way, I didn't bat an eye, MBA gave me a discount on the ride and the driver was very grateful for what I was doing and denied the tip. You can't get any better than that and I thanked him. The total cost was worth the $140 to get them home, no questions asked.
The mom, still holding on to two phones kept trying to use them with her fumbled fingers and glossy eyes. I kindly asked her to put the phones away and focus. I was very direct with her because patience with her was running thin with the police, including with me. It was a sad sight to see. That poor younger girl was clearly in despair, never speaking a word. And that sweet baby never once cried or whimpered the whole time. He was a little angel by far.
The second cop that showed up was also thankful. He said to me there's not many good people left in the world like you and what you are doing is very kind. I told him there are many good people in the world, we all just have to come together and be one.
We got the car seat down onto the sidewalk, and the young girl placed the little guy in it. As much as I wanted to hold him, I never did. His mom buckled him in the car seat and that's when I bent down, held his little hand as he peered up to me. So adorable with chubby red cheeks, and still so happy. I asked his name, and she said his name was Bobby. At that very moment, I knew what I did was worth every penny.
Prayers to you little Bobby!
It was a long day for me, and I was waiting on a flight for a group to come in at 11:28pm, to be exact. As time went on, so did the weather up north. The winter storms began to brew even harder and the fog here in Florida started to thicken. My flight was then delayed until 1:15 am, so I had time to hang out and watch a little Netflix.
So as I sat upstairs in the airport, in a nice quiet place off to the side, a young woman, clearly drunk, a young girl, maybe 14, and a baby, who looked to be around 9 months old, show up. Trailing behind is a woman cop on her Segway not looking too happy.
I sat there for quite some time, practically 45 minutes, and could not help but to listen because they physically were less than three feet from where I sat. I heard everything and it's sad to see how our children are being raised. Specifically in this circumstance.
What was happening was this young and clearly drunken mother, who may have been about 20 herself, just recently got off a plane and her boyfriend who was also in the same condition, ended up taking off with not only the keys to the car, but the baby bag with all the baby's needs. Food, diapers, blanket, toys, everything. Thankfully the little guy had a cozy jammies on, but knowing his fate really bothered me.
The cop was a tough, yet nice lady. During that time, the drunken mom was on the phone asking her boyfriend to return, but he was scared and too drunk himself. He thought he would be arrested if he came back with the keys. But the main issue was getting the baby bag, the keys to the car, and the car-seat to get home. Ubers do not supply car seats, so that was out. The cop asked her to tell him he was not going to be arrested unless he gets behind that wheel. Many cops were outside the airport trying to track down the guy, but to no avail. And the young girl who tagged along, holding the baby was too young to drive.
Finally, after one hour of drunken stupidity and the beginning or her now rude behavior, I had to step in. All I knew is this situation was going absolutely nowhere.
I kindly asked the cop if I could interject. I could tell she was at her wits end. She told me to go ahead. They also didn't have much help there at the airport that day either. The government shutdown was in effect and it clearly showed throughout.
Downstairs was a taxi service that had car seats and we needed to get this little guy home. It was well past 12:30am now and the cops had nothing more they could do. I praise them because they tried every alternative for her, including friends or family to come get them, but it was hopeless. So I offered her a ride home.
I headed down to the MBA service there at the airport, the cop escorted the now "snappy" mom, along with the young teen, who obviously had to hold the baby at all times. I explained to the lady inside curbside service what was going on and that I was going to pay for this baby to get home. The mom approached me, now with two cops involved, and I asked her to give her home address.
Go figure, the address had to be Venice. Either way, I didn't bat an eye, MBA gave me a discount on the ride and the driver was very grateful for what I was doing and denied the tip. You can't get any better than that and I thanked him. The total cost was worth the $140 to get them home, no questions asked.
The mom, still holding on to two phones kept trying to use them with her fumbled fingers and glossy eyes. I kindly asked her to put the phones away and focus. I was very direct with her because patience with her was running thin with the police, including with me. It was a sad sight to see. That poor younger girl was clearly in despair, never speaking a word. And that sweet baby never once cried or whimpered the whole time. He was a little angel by far.
The second cop that showed up was also thankful. He said to me there's not many good people left in the world like you and what you are doing is very kind. I told him there are many good people in the world, we all just have to come together and be one.
We got the car seat down onto the sidewalk, and the young girl placed the little guy in it. As much as I wanted to hold him, I never did. His mom buckled him in the car seat and that's when I bent down, held his little hand as he peered up to me. So adorable with chubby red cheeks, and still so happy. I asked his name, and she said his name was Bobby. At that very moment, I knew what I did was worth every penny.
Prayers to you little Bobby!
No wonderful prayers for you not many people in this world would step up like you did good bless
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