The human mind has amazing powers. One of these powers is something we call a “flashback.” This is when we are thinking about something, and a thought or series of thoughts causes us to think about something else that is related to what we have on our mind.

A good example is something that happened the other day that caused me to think back to the best and most rewarding airline trip that I have ever taken. This trip was made back in 2013 when I went on a trip to Israel with a group of people from my church. My pastor Don Chandler has made more than 20 excursions to the Holy Land, including taking the group from my church, along with a few other people, to the Land of the Bible. On this trip, one of the highlights for me was my roommate, the late Dr. Denver Prince, and this was arranged by Brother Don. Brother Denver was not only a great guy, but he had been on about nine previous trips to Israel, so I had the advantage of two tour guides. 

The “flashback” came when I heard a dumb blonde joke, which is really a travesty of justice, because most blondes are not only beautiful but also truly brilliant. It seems on a flight from Detroit, Michigan, to Toronto, Canada, this blonde, who had a “regular” passenger airline ticket, decided she wanted to sit in “first class.” She made her way up the aisle to the first-class section and took a seat. Of course, it was not long before the flight attendant came along and asked to see her ticket. Obviously, her ticket was not for first class, so the flight attendant told her she was going to have to move back to regular seating. This blonde said, “I’m blonde, I’m beautiful and I am not going anywhere,” and she would not budge. 

After several more minutes, the flight attendant was in desperation and went to see the pilot in charge. They agreed that if the woman did not move, they would have the authorities meet the plane at the airport and take her into custody. This would allow the airline people to press charges and use her as an example. When this conversation ended, the co-pilot, who had overheard the conversation, said, “Let me talk to her. I am married to a blonde and I speak their language, and there is more than one way to skin a cat.” He got up, went to the first-class section, found the passenger in question, leaned over, and whispered something in her ear. After a minute or so, the blonde stood up, apologized to the co-pilot, and made her way back to her previously assigned seat. Later, the pilot and flight attendant asked the co-pilot about what he had said to change her mind. He said, “I just told her that ‘first class’ did not go to Toronto.” To be sure, he did indeed speak blonde.

What this joke did for me that caused a “flashback” was that on our trip in 2013, there were only two couples who were willing to pay the extra charge for first-class seating. They shall remain nameless, but they are great people, and they could well afford it. The bottom line here is that the human mind does indeed have amazing powers. We just need to use them. As a footnote, at this time in our history, the nation of Israel has been attacked by Hamas, and is literally in a battle for survival.

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(Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist, and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in the Log Cabin Democrat in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated in over 375 newspapers in 35 states. For a personalized copy of “Your Future Begins Today” send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)