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Avi Liberman

American Airlines, Aruba, Fires, and Israel

I’m scheduled to perform in Aruba for what is now famously called “Yeshiva Week”. My good friend and very funny comic Ray Ellin has been running a show there for years, which I have done myself and always enjoyed it. Ray being Jewish himself would regale me with stories about Yeshiva Week and Jews invading what is known as “The Happy Island”, making it that much less happy. Lets face it, in general we don’t do happy well.

All jokes aside, since Jewish audiences are my specialty and I never happened to overlap with Yeshiva Week, I suggested to Ray we put together a show just for the Jewish community who comes, and it was finally decided to try for this year.

The good part is that Mike Vecchione, a great comic I have taken on my Comedy For Koby tours in Israel was also going to be working the club the week before, and could simply stay a bit longer and be part of the show as well.

I was scheduled to go through Miami on a Wednesday but when the devastating fires broke out in LA, like most people I wanted out sooner. I was fortunate in that the fires were far from my home, but the plumes of smoke everywhere and almost everything being closed made staying in LA that much less appealing.

I called American Airlines and whenever I hear a slight southern accent of an agent I always feel better as I know I’ve gotten someone in Dallas where the headquarters are. They usually know what they are doing. I got a very sweet woman named McKenna Quinn.

I asked if my flight could be moved to Sunday, keeping the connecting flight to Aruba a full four days later the same. Even though I was spending the night in Miami on my previous route, it was less than 24 hours so it didn’t count as a layover. What I wanted to do now clearly was. McKenna said she really couldn’t do that and inquired why I couldn’t just go to Aruba the same day or within the 24-hour period like before. I told her I didn’t have a hotel room reserved, and with the fires going on, was wondering if there was anything she could do. “Avi, I’m gonna get you out of there. Don’t worry!”

She was so nice and when we began to chat, what I did for a living came up and so did the tour I do in Israel. McKenna told me, “Just so you know, I pray for Israel every day!” I wish more Jews around the world did.

In the end, not only did McKenna switch my flight, (I had a friend I could stay with in Miami) but also she didn’t charge me a thing for doing it. American Airlines sends you certificates for excellent service to give out to employees when you reach a certain status, and as someone who flies a lot I get them every year in the mail. I was able to read the QR code to McKenna over the phone and insisted she take one.

It’s nice to know that with all of the craziness involved in planning travel, there are still people who will go the extra mile to help. It took a fire and a random phone call to an American Airline agent to remind me that some of the best friends Israel has are still in the Christian community. Whether it’s getting you out of a city in crisis, or praying that Israel won’t have any more of it’s own, it’s nice to know McKenna Quinn has us covered.

About the Author
Avi Liberman is a stand-up comic who was born in Israel, raised in Texas and now lives in Los Angeles. Avi founded Comedy for Koby, a bi-annual tour of Israel featuring some of America's top stand-up comedians.