What Is Your Super Power?

I was heading home from a conference in New Orleans (BK, before Katrina). There were two other ladies from my city who were traveling with me. When we got to the airport, we learned that all the flights were overbooked (the city was packed to the seams with conference-goers, graduating seniors and the like). The gate attendant was telling each person in turn the situation and getting back less than the milk of human kindness. One of my party started to work herself into a panic attack (explaining that she'd packed her meds and checked them at the curb....*).

So, I gathered up all three tickets and told both women to take have a seat.

Just before it was my turn, a disgruntled almost-passenger ripped into the gate attendant with a napalm-level barrage, suggesting that her parents were never married. Then, it was my turn. When she began her spiel with gritted teeth, I told her that I knew she didn't create the problem and that she would do her best to get us home...that night. Then, I flashed a sincere, though toothy grin and shut up.

She got us out on the last flight of the night, after typing what looked like a manifesto into her computer.

On the way back, the other ladies dubbed me Charmella, The Charming One. The name has stuck.

I get called in to deal with execs with whithering temperaments, partnership meetings where people are afraid to drink anything they didn't bring, project teams that can only agree that the boss is the devil and deserves a stake in the throat (and have written the project charter to carry it out).

I can disarm the nasty at 20 yards. They never see it coming.

If mine is the power of charm (I have southern parents on both sides), what, praytell, is yours?

Cross-posted at linkedin.com