The Definition of "Professional."

For many, a professional is a doctor or lawyer. But perhaps it means a bit more.

The following was told to me by a security trainer, after attending the annual 8-hour security program yesterday that every security officer has to take, once a year, in order to keep working in NYC. (The program is complete B.S., but I did get something good out of it this year that I'd like to share).

A 747, filled with about 300 people, landed in a New York airport. After all the passengers and crew were off the plane, the cleaning crew went aboard to do their job. Now, the average airport cleaner makes less money than any security officer. The average officer makes about $8 an hour. (I'm lucky in that I make a bit more).

They went on board to clean the windows, the trays, the toilets... And towards the end of the job, all the cleaners leave. All, but one. That one cleaner stays, in order to vaccum the plane. While doing that, the cleaner found a thick, white, envelope under one of the seats. Inside was $3200 in cash.

The cleaner put the cash back into the envelope, made note of the seat it was found under, then turned everything in to the proper supervisor at American Airlines. Meanwhile, the wife of an out-of-town couple who had flown in; just discovered that the envelope containing their entire life-savings was missing. She called the airline, and was transferred to one person after another, after another, after another... until finally reaching the right person.

The supervisor asked her to describe the envelope, its contents, and where the couple had been sitting on the plane. She described it as a white envelope containing 32 one hundred dollar bills, and where they had been sitting. The supervisor already had all of that information. He then tells her not to worry, and that they were sending the envelope to where the couple was staying. An hour and a half later, the envelope was hand delivered to the wife.

Now the reason why the envelope contained their entire life-savings is that the husband had cancer. In three days, he'd be checking in to the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He'd never check out, and the couple knew it. They took the money so that they could enjoy the next three days of their Life together, before it would be completely altered forever.

Sometimes, being a professional doesn't involve having a degree or making a ton of money.

Very nice story.:thumbsup:

I'd say it's more the definition of a decent human being, not to many of those floating around now-a-days.

It is amazing the acts of kindness/righteousness a person is capable of and we often forget it because the media bombards us with the nightmarish things humans are capable of.

tebore said:

It is amazing the acts of kindness/righteousness a person is capable of and we often forget it because the media bombards us with the nightmarish things humans are capable of.

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Decency doesn't get ratings.

Nice story indeed !

Sadly, we don't hear enough about the good deeds that people do anymore.

I wish today's media would cover more stories like these to promote positive actions in people instead of what we're normally used to seeing on the news every day.

Jaybird said:

Nice story indeed !

Sadly, we don't hear enough about the good deeds that people do anymore.

I wish today's media would cover more stories like these to promote positive actions in people instead of what we're normally used to seeing on the news every day.

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Agreed. Unfortunately the media doesn't cover very many stories like this because of their philosophy of "If it bleeds, it leads". That's why I never bother listening to the news any more. After half an hour of network news you would think it was the end of the world.

What I most like about this story is the fact that the person returning it surely could have used the money themselves. This wasn't a case of a stockbroker finding a few thousand which to him would have been petty cash. Rather, to the person finding the money the sum was probably equal to a few months take-home pay. While still morally wrong to keep it, I'm sure not very many would fault a person making peanuts if they did exactly that. And yet they returned it without hesitation. Although the person who got their money back doesn't seem in any position to give a nice reward, I hope the cleaner's employer did. Better yet, I hope a bunch of people took up a collection for this honest worker and gave them a nice surprise. It's rare you hear about stuff like this. My sister's sister-in-law found a few hundred in cash once which had got jammed in the deposit slot of an ATM and just kept it. :shakehead I'd bet 99 out of 100 people finding the envelope containing $3200 would have done the same.

Jaybird said:

Nice story indeed !

Sadly, we don't hear enough about the good deeds that people do anymore.

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I agree. Most news sources these days have a dogged focus on the dark side of humanity. It's depressing stuff.

Great story, Monocrom, thanks for sharing it.

I think the label "profressional" can be applied to just about any job. It's more about excellence (including ethics and honesty, not just job performance), rather than the type of job...at least in my book. Now if you're talking about white collar versus blue collar jobs, that's another story.

Not to detract from the story, but is it a sign of the times that such a simple act of honesty seems to be the exception rather than the rule?

flashfan said:

Not to detract from the story, but is it a sign of the times that such a simple act of honesty seems to be the exception rather than the rule?

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Yes.

I have to be honest. The type of act that the cleaner performed would not have caused anyone to take notice just a couple of generations ago. But nowadays, it's a different story. Folks might have gotten a bit upset had the cleaner kept the money, especially since no one else was around. But no one would truly be surprised, if that had happened.

Monocrom said:

Sometimes, being a professional doesn't involve having a degree or making a ton of money.

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/agree 100%

To be a professional is to perform tasks with a level of professionalism.

by that standard, I am a professional pizza delivery driver.

mdocod said:

... I am a professional pizza delivery driver.

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And so was the man who invented the bullet-proof vest.

We're all expecting great things from you.

Mmm, this makes me sad of how good this good deed was, yet how many of us would do it. i even question myself if i would do it. we all say that we would turn it in, but when you realize that you have over a month's pay in your hand and that you can just walk away with it, not knowing if belongs to that family with the husband with cancer, or a drug dealer, or theif, you will question yourself. it all changes when you actually have the money in your hand.

SilentK said:

Mmm, this makes me sad of how good this good deed was, yet how many of us would do it. i even question myself if i would do it. we all say that we would turn it in, but when you realize that you have over a month's pay in your hand and that you can just walk away with it, not knowing if belongs to that family with the husband with cancer, or a drug dealer, or thief, you will question yourself. it all changes when you actually have the money in your hand.

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All I can say is that every real-world case I've heard, in which something similar happened; the money always belonged to someone needy.

Not some drug dealer, not some rich guy; always someone needy. If you remind yourself that the money most likely belongs to some poor soul who really needs it, then doing the right thing becomes a lot easier.