Inspiration among Tragedy

I stayed up late last night watching TV. Thursday evenings are like Saturday for me, thanks to my work schedule. At midnight there wasn't much on, until I got to CNN. I couldn't tell what it was at first they were running CNN international, some blurry video of a fire from Skype. Below the supers read "Plane Crash. I immediately called Greg, who was already in bed. No other network, MSNBC, FOX had anything, but it looked bad. A Continental commuter jet, just like the ones I take to go home or connect to a large airport, crashed in a Buffalo neighborhood. It did not look good.

Once every network picked up on it, you could tell they were scrambling to get whatever information they could from local stations, newspapers, the Internet. Eventually, the local stations got their satellite trucks there. CNN took a press conference and found a brother who believed his sister was on the plane. It was somewhat excruciating listening to the reporters get interviews with him. He was very gracious, but you could tell how uncomfortable it was on both sides. It's that fine line between doing a job and having compassion for those affected by the situation.

I went to bed around 2, after learning at least 49 people, including one on the ground died. That number increased to 50 in the morning.

Throughout Friday no other stories about the plane crash caught my attention like those first pictures and interviews, until they started telling the stories of the people on board. I was glued to the TV.

It's the reason I love to fly. It's the reason I love airports and travelling. An airplane is just a capsule full of stories about what is amazing about people. This plane crash proved that to me. We don't even know the names of all those who passed, but those we do know are pretty inspiring.

A human rights activist for the genocide in Rwanda.

Two jazz musicians.

A cantor.

A 9-11 widow who, just days before, met with President Barack Obama.

She is getting the most play on the networks, but others are just as interesting.

There was a law student, who was flying home to be a date for her nephew's kindergarten Valentine's Day part. She was the sister of the man first interviewed right when the plane went down.

The co-pilot was only 25 years old. A girl who has only been flying for a year and a half. She was just starting out she was just beginning to live her dream.

To me they are all a testament to how wonderful people are. They were just 49 random people, placed together for a short trip from Newark to Buffalo, getting to the places they needed to be, who never planned to have their stories told through grieving family and friends on the national news. But they all do have a story. Many of those will unintentionally inspire people across the country and the world.

Makes you think about the next time you're around random people on a plane, or in the grocery store, at a movie. What are their stories? What is it about their lives that could inspire now?

The New York Times touches on some of their stories.