He was willing to endure six arduous trips if it meant spending Christmas with his daughter. What fathers would not do to make their daughters happy?
Christmas is commonly recognized as a time to spend with family and rejoice with loved ones. While everyone deserves a relaxing holiday from the stresses of everyday life, those in particular professions, such as doctors, nurses, hospital personnel, firefighters, first responders, police, military officials, flight attendants, and others, must make sacrifices for others.
These folks work in crucial services and do not have the luxury of spending vacations with their family. It stinks, but it needs to be done. The sacrifices must be made by someone.
Pierce Vaughan, a Delta Air flight attendant, was scheduled to work on Christmas Day and the following day in December 2018. She was also scheduled to work on six flights every day. How much more constrained might a schedule be?
Peirce’s father, Hal Vaughan, was not going to let her spend Christmas alone. The old dad, in an unbelievable act of pure fatherly love, bought a seat on every one of Pierce’s flights so he could be with her. If sitting through one flight is challenging, consider going through six in a row. Mr. Vaughan was unconcerned. He’s not as youthful or as powerful as he once was, but nothing could keep him from being with his baby girl.
He spent his cash and spent the holidays sitting on aircraft across the United States, but it was all worth it. Pierce would go through it all over again.
Pierce and Hal warmed the hearts of millions of people.
Mike Levy, a passenger on a first-class flight from Fort Myers, Florida, to Detroit, Michigan, relayed the touching story. He struck up a discussion with Hal and was taken aback when he learned why the man was flying to Detroit. His destination had not been Detroit. On that plane with his kid, he was exactly where he needed to be.
Levy took a selfie with Hal and a picture of Pierce. He shared their tale on Facebook with their permission, and it quickly went viral. Thousands of people were moved by the loving relationship between the caring father and his daughter.
“I had the pleasure of sitting next to Hal on my flight back home,” Levy captioned his post. “His daughter Pierce was our flight attendant who had to work over Christmas. Hal decided he would spend the holiday with her. So, he is flying on each of her flights today and tomorrow around the country to spend time with his daughter for Christmas. What a fantastic father! Wish you both a very Merry Christmas!”
According to Levy, Hal was still recovering from a serious injury he sustained when he fell from a tree earlier that year. It couldn’t have been easy for him to stand so long at the airports and shuffle through lines.
“He is still recovering from a neck injury from earlier in the year, which had left him quadriplegic for a period,” Levy wrote. “This was his first trip since the accident. I was amazed and thought he was such a phenomenal father for going well out of his way to be with his daughter.”
In the spirit of the season
In a later interview with the New York Times, Hal explained why he couldn’t let his daughter spend the holidays by herself. “I just felt terrible thinking about her spending her first Christmas alone, even though she’s 25.” Pierce may be all grown up and independent, but she’s still his little girl.
Pierce was excited at how viral their story had gone so quickly. She shared Levy’s post with the caption: “Dad’s first trip using his benefits was a success! A special thanks to all of the patient, wonderful gate agents around the country and my perfect crew. He made it on every flight and even got first class RSW-DTW (Christmas miracle). [Shout-out] to Mike Levy for being a great first-class passenger & helping us to understand how cool this actually is!”
Everyone deserves to be surrounded by their loved ones in this season of love and family. There’s so much to be learned from this amazing story. Hal was willing to move mountains to be with his daughter who couldn’t leave her work.
You too can do it for someone you love.
