Justin’s Blog

I headed for the train station on Sunday morning just down the road from the hotel. The first entrance I tried to use was closed so I crossed the road to the main entrance. When I headed down the stairs I noticed platform 2 entry was blocked off. This concerned my since platform 2 is the one to the airport. I went down the platform one stairs, purchased a ticket and asked the station attendant how I am to get to the airport. He told me I have to catch a train to Central, about a 10 minute trip then catch a bus. I had planned to arrived 1 hour before my flight so I could check in and get a good seat. I new this would delay me and I started to get angry that I had not been told when I picked a timetable up the day before and specifically asked for timetable for Sunday to the airport from Museum station. I started to fill anger to the station master and then composed myself and told myself “This is not what I have planned but this is now how it will be. I will be a bit late for my flight, not get my choice of seats but I will still arrive in time to catch the plan and I will still get back to Melbourne on time”. I did this to put my Hexagon back into line it and worked great. I put my smile back on and headed to the platform. I arrived at the airport with 35 minutes left till the flight left.
On the course I told everyone at the public speech what I planned to do on the flight home. A plan as a few of you new was to ask the cabin crew on the flight if I could use the PA system in the plan to address the cabin. After takeoff and when the seat belt sign had gone of I pressed the service button on the overhead console. A crew member from the rear of the plan came up and asked me if she could help me. I told her I was on my way back from a speech program in Sydney called The McGuire Program and I would like to keep pushing out of my comfort zones by using the plans PA system to talk to the cabin. She said she would have to ask the 1st in charge and headed up to the front to check for me. She came back shortly after with the 1st in charge and the 1st in charge told me it would be fine to do it after service. She would come down and get me. I new her face from somewhere and I could not place it at first but after a short time I remember flying to Sydney early this year and asking the same thing. The person I talked to then was this 1st in charge I had just talked to now. She also refused me the last time. This time she must of had her hexagon in the positive because she said yes.
After service the 1st in charge came down to my seat and asked me to follow her up the front. She explained the way the PA system worked (press 8 then press and hold TALK). I addressed the cabin, did a disclosure and talked to the cabin about pushing out of my comfort zones. After saying thanks and getting heaps of applause I headed back to my seat. My seat was 14 rows back because it was the only isle seat left at the time of my check in. On the way I got heaps people saying “Well done”. When I sat down the lady along side me by the name of Supatrar started to ask me about the program. We talked for the rest of the way home and exchanged email addresses. She thank me many times for sharing with her and we talked a lot about being the person who you are inside and as any McGuire Graduate will know it is one of the most important things to admit “I am a recovering stutterer”.