Ever since I was a little boy, our family gathered at Easter for a huge celebration. We would attend worship service, and after the big noon meal all the kids including nephews and cousins and even in-laws and out-laws would have a huge Easter egg hunt.

This year was no exception. We met at my sister’s beautiful place in the country north of Denton. With travel distances for so many, we had the reunion on Saturday before Easter. My wife drove over early to visit with the grandkids, and I worked on Friday afternoon later flying to Dallas Love Field.

When boarding the plane in Lubbock, I heard some nice music from what I thought was coming out of an electronic device of some type. Instead, it was one of the pilots singing, “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.” So, I took his picture. He didn’t mind. I joked to the other pilot asking him if singing and guitar playing would soon be required of all of us pilots. He said, “Oh, absolutely.” You have to respect Southwest Airlines.

On Saturday night, we were driving back to Lubbock. My wife and I spent the night in a Hampton Inn in Wichita Falls. We had stayed there before and always had been impressed with the service. We walked into the room noticed an elephant on the bed.

Not one of those “elephants in the room” that people talk about. No, it was a fluffy pleasant elephant made out of clean towels with peppermint candies for eyes with a Milky Way candy bar in its snout —very clever.

The next morning as we were checking out, we said hello to the housekeeper and told her that we enjoyed the elephant. She said for Easter she was making Easter bunnies. We thanked her and told her it was a real treat. She laughed and said she had a lot of fun making things for hotel guests.

What is my point in all of this?

How does an airline get the pilot to sing and how does a hotel get a housekeeper to make fluffy animals out of towels to entertain the guests? Simple, both companies have great cultures and motivated employees — and that is worth a million dollars. People who are willing to go the extra mile to brighten the customers’ day are worth their weight in gold. I know Texas Tech Physicians also has such people and we salute you!