Francesca Street, a travel correspondent for CNN, asks the theologically rich and existentially stirring question that will gnaw at us for days:
"What do you do when your evening flight is canceled, you really need to be somewhere in the morning and there are no other available flights?"
Stranded in the Orlando International Airport with zero options to get to Knoxville on a Sunday evening, one passenger had an idea. Michelle Miller wondered if other grounded travelers from her flight would join her in renting a 15-passenger mini-van to drive to their final destination. As it turns out, 13 very different people--and their luggage--elected to take the risk.
Road trip, anyone?
"Michelle Miller was set to present at a conference in Knoxville on Tuesday. Carlos Cordero and Laura Puckering were taking their 17-year-old daughter Mikayla Puckering to tour the University of Tennessee. One passenger was heading to a custody battle. Someone else was helping a friend move to Mexico. Others just wanted to get home."
In contrast to the number of flight options into Knoxville (that would be zero), some travelers could rent a van on the spot, load up, and head north through the night.
Alanah Story, a twentysomething college student who began documenting their road trip on TikTok, was delighted by how their shared need to get somewhere brought a diverse group of people together.
"If I thought that this was crazy, I knew other people might think it's crazy also," Alanah tells CNN Travel. "And so I just figured, this is a very unique bunch of people, we're all very different. So I don't know, maybe other people would want to see it too, because things like this just don't happen on the regular."
When the mini-van pulled motored north, the passengers numbered off and made a plan for each person to drive for a couple of hours. Some tried to get some sleep as they drove through the night, while others talked about "their lives, families, and jobs." For those who were upfront, they kept each other awake by telling each other about themselves. One passenger, a minister, shared his story about his work in the church.
And as they did, millions watched the videos Alanah uploaded to TikTok and commented about their journey together.
They joked. They got punch-drunk. They had a blast.
"We all were so different. And I think a big part of why people like it so much is because you could literally see our differences in real time," says Alanah.
"We were like a big dysfunctional family," says Michelle. "It was fun."
Stop me if this sounds familiar, but this sounds like church.
"Everybody was so awesome. It almost went too perfect," says Carlos. "There was no traffic. Everyone got along, everyone pitched in. It was just seamless."
"It took collective effort. Everybody really had their own thing going on. But everybody cared about one another's ventures and responsibilities."
Ultimately, the passengers all reached their destination and could keep their commitments. One passenger reflected, "I take away the fact that there are some really good people in this world. We were all different cultures, we were different backgrounds. It couldn't have gotten more perfect. So I don't have any regrets. No regrets whatsoever."
Jesus once gathered a strange and diverse group of people to join him on a road trip that would change the world. Along the way, they experienced joy because they had company as they traveled with Jesus.
Today, we may not be riding down a highway to our destination in the dark of night. But our pews sure do look a lot like the seats on a mini-van.
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This story about airline passengers taking a road trip together to reach their final destination was reported by CNN's Francesca Street, with the headline: "13 Stranded Strangers Went on a Road Trip. Here's What Happened." It was published online at 11:26 AM on December 7, 2022.