It's no secret that travel these days is stressful. Well, it turns out one airline recently made at least one flight a little nicer. It's all thanks to a kind offer by a local Baltimore musician.
Many of us have been there, you make it through ticketing, TSA, just to get to the gate and that agent says, 'Nope, your bags gotta go under the plane,' but what if your particularly fragile bag is your livelihood?
Frances Borowsky grew up here in Baltimore in a family of musicians.
“I have been an internationally performing artist since a very young age, said Borowsky”
She's been in front of a crowd since the age of seven. So traveling to a gig is no big deal. Well, maybe kind of big.
“I do buy an extra seat for my instrument,” Borowsky said.
It's a thing. Frances is a cellist and cellists the world over have strategies for flying with their strung-out companion. Frances tells us about some of her tactics.
“Talking with the crew who’s managing the flight, always trying to be on their good side. Like, ‘Hey, I need an extra seatbelt, this is what’s up...That’s always an adventure,” Borowsky said.
So maybe she's also a little more in tune with the stresses of people around her.
One Sunday in September, she was flying back from a performance in Omaha, Nebraska.
“I overheard one of the flight attendants was having a pretty rough day,” said Borowsky.
She asked if they’d enjoy a little free music.
“Maybe I can stay after the plane lands and play for just the crew. And one of the attendants said yeah, that would be great. And then came up and said, ‘How about after beverage service?’”
Tray tables and wheels up, they climbed to altitude and the flight attendant made the announcement:
“Have you ever heard live music, on an airplane, while flying? Because probably most of you have seen that cello taking the first-row seat…Southwest rules, I love you, it’s totally fine,” Borowsky told WMAR.
Carefully Frances pulled out her cello and took her concert seat. Well, jump seat. “There’s actually less room than I anticipated,” Borowsky said.
And began to play. Soon the phones came out along with the smiles. With the gentle sound of Bach's Suite No. 1 flying through the cabin, the hearts of weary travelers glowed. And on at least one flight, beauty prevailed over the stress of travel.
Frances sees herself as an ambassador for music
"Not to show off but to connect and to see that it does indeed bring people joy and give them an emotional experience that is rarely found any other way. That's powerful," Borowsky said.
If you see a poor musician trudging through the airport, who knows, maybe you'll be treated to that sweet sound.
