Just to be with his daughter for Christmas, he was willing to take six long trips. Yes, dads do a lot to make their girls happy, right?
It’s nice for families to get together and enjoy at Christmas. Some people have to work, like doctors, nurses, firemen, police, military officers, and flight attendants. Most people get to take a break. They have important jobs that keep them from being with their families over the holidays. It’s hard, but for the better good, someone has to give up something.
Peirce’s dad, Hal Vaughan, didn’t want his daughter to be by herself on Christmas. Like a good dad, he made sure he had a seat on all of Peirce’s trips so he could be with her. For six flights in a row, it must be really hard to sit through them all! It was fine with Mr. Vaughan. Since he’s not as young as he used to be, he saved his money to spend time with his daughter.
At Christmas, he took planes across the United States just to be with Peirce. What do you know? He promised to do everything again for her.
A passenger on a trip from Fort Myers, Florida, to Detroit, Michigan, named Mike Levy told this warm story. He talked to Hal and found out why he was on the plane. Detroit wasn’t even his last stop; he was with his daughter, which was exactly where he wanted to be.
Levy took a picture of Peirce and a selfie with Hal. He told everyone about their story on Facebook with their permission, and it went viral. The love between this dad and his daughter moved tens of thousands of people.
Levy wrote on his post, “I had the pleasure of sitting next to Hal on my flight back home.” We had a flight attendant named Pierce, who was his daughter. She had to work over Christmas. Hal chose to go to her house for the holiday. So, today and tomorrow, he is taking all of her flights across the country to spend Christmas with his daughter. What a great dad you are! Have a wonderful Christmas!”
Levy says Hal hurt himself badly when he fell off a tree earlier this year. He had to stand in airport lines for a long time, which must have been hard for him.
“He’s still getting better from a neck injury that left him quadriplegic for a while earlier this year,” Levy wrote. He hadn’t been on a trip since the accident. He went out of his way to be with his daughter, which amazed me and made me think he was a great dad.
Hal later talked to the New York Times about why he couldn’t let his daughter spend the holidays by herself. “It made me sad to think that she would be spending her first Christmas by herself, even though she is 25.” Pierce is an adult now, but she is still his little girl.
Pierce was thrilled that their story spread so quickly. She shared Levy’s post with the words, “Dad’s first trip with his benefits went well!” Thank you very much to all of the kind and patient gate workers across the country and to my perfect crew. He made it on every flight, and to top it off, he got first class from RSW to DFW. Thank you, Mike Levy, for being a great first-class guest and helping us understand how cool this is!”
Everyone should be with their loved ones this holiday season of love and family. We can learn a lot from Hal’s amazing story. Even though she had to work and couldn’t be with her family, he would do anything to be with his daughter.
You can also do something nice for someone you love.
Pierce Vaughan, a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines in December 2018, had to work on Christmas Day and the next day. Besides that, she had six flights every day planned. It looks like you have a lot to do!