On August 30, 2015, my girlfriend, Rachel, and I celebrated our three-year anniversary by going to Las Vegas for the annual DJ convention, The Las Vegas DJ Show. We boarded Southwest Flight #609 out of San Jose International Airport (SJC). As we were cruising at 39,000 feet, the Flight Attendant came on the PA system and made an announcement that completely caught us off guard. The Flight Attendant announced our anniversary to the entire plane by saying:
“Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to congratulate two very special Passengers joining us on our flight: DJ Alex Reyes and his girlfriend of three years, Rachel. Let’s give them a big round of applause. We have a special present for both of you, and we wish you nothing but happiness.”
After the announcement, we both broke down and hugged each other. We were given a bottle of champagne, and all of the Passengers and Crew congratulated us as we got off the airplane. We even took a picture together with our captain at the gate to commemorate the special occasion.
Every love is special and a thing to be treasured, but the gesture meant even more to us because of the obstacles Rachel and I have overcome together. We are are both disabled—I suffer from Cerebral Palsy (CP), and Rachel suffers from limited mobility. But despite our disabilities, our love is stronger than ever and beating the odds.
Both Rachel and I would like to give a big thanks to all of the Passengers and Crew from Flight #609 for making our anniversary very special and memorable. We have been flying with Southwest Airlines since 1998, and we are happy to continue to be VIP Passengers. You are all simply the best!