A poem from the heart of a travel agent

THERE’S no doubting the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked some incredible creativity among Australia’s travel industry.

Claire Morris from Flight Centre Hampton and North Brighton (pictured) is locked down along with the rest of Victoria, and took the time to pen this ode to encourage the industry amid the avalanche of complaints and refund requests. You can follow Claire on Instagram @hereclaireandeverywhere.

ONCE upon a New Years evening, 2020 had me gleaming - pondering all that was to come, with love and prospects and then some. But January came and went, while news across the world had spread; the month of February sat there stagnant, while government action remained absent.

March hit hard like a runaway train and suddenly travel went down the drain something happened across the waters which had us concerned for our borders. Numbers slowly crept up high while we were scrambling to get by, and suddenly those we thought were friends took a turn we could not comprehend.

Relationships we had built over decades suddenly began to quickly fade; those we had considered friendly and faithful had suddenly become so ungrateful!

WAKING every morning seemed like my heart would inwardly let out a scream, I’d drive to work in a state of trance, which seemed to fly by in a glance.

Sitting upon my throne of despair which had once been my comfortable agent’s chair, silently waiting for the next incoming call and wondering if this client would be my downfall. Hearts skipping a beat every time it rang, wondering if the next conversation would start with a bang - the middleman, as we were known, were the ones being berated on the phone.

The looks of despair on my colleagues’ faces told us silently they were being put in unwarranted places, labelled dishonest, pathetic and simply rude, or basically anything just as crude.

I stared at my spreadsheet of names and numbers trying not to make any blunders, knowing that one mistaken definition would lead to just more ammunition - for every call of praise and thanks there were ten more who were firing blanks.

AS MY travel agent friends grew weary, our sunken eyes showed signs or tearing. Kindness is a virtue people seem to forget when they believe a company owes them a debt.

So forget those clients who have their doubts who fling their empty threats about, because in this time of trials and testing comes along a different kind of blessing.

Forget the kind words we crave from society who seem to have lost all sense of propriety. The support from my work family at my store means more to me now than ever before. For every client who becomes abusive, just remember we have something more exclusive - a family that has joined collectively to support each other more affectionately.

And although we now must work alone in the solitude of our own homes, just know that spiritually we are combined, our thoughts and feelings intertwined.

And even if we feel defeated, just know that in this family you are needed.

SO WHEN you feel all hope is lost, just know this situation will defrost.

When one of us is overcome with grief, beaten and downtrodden with disbelief, please remember that you have a family who without fail will be here substantially.

So close your eyes and take a pause, eventually the public will retract their claws, and remember this won’t last forever, we’re all in this tough time together.

And one day soon elbow knocks will fade, and once again we won’t be afraid, we’ll hug each other very tightly and suddenly the world will seem so much more brightly.

But until that time we just need to push through, and just know, through thick and thin, I’ll stand by you.