Dad of the Year drove family 17 hours straight to Disney World after their flight was canceled
Then he drove back home to work.
Main Street at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida
Few things would disappoint a child more than missing out on a trip to Disney World. Good News Network reports that it would have happened to Jill Tobin-Montanez’s two children if not for their amazing father, Nathan Montanez. When the mom and her kids arrived at the airport in New Jersey to fly to Florida, they learned their flight had been canceled 15 minutes before departure.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t another flight available for days.
“I explained to my kids that sometimes life gives you lemons—and we’d try again to get to Disney another time,” she told Good News Network. Nathan had dropped his wife and kids off at the airport and was on his way home because he wasn’t going on the trip due to work.
When he returned to the airport to pick them up, he had no intention of driving back home. They were going to Disney World.
“When we got in the car, all defeated, he asked if we were ready to go. We said ‘yup,’ thinking we were going home. Then he told us to get ready for a long drive,” Jill told Good News Network.
Now, that’s a dad committed to making his children happy. He drove 1,000 miles over 17 hours, down most of the East Coast, until they reached sunny Florida. The family arrived in Orlando at midnight, and Jill and the kids were able to visit the park the next day. Nathan got to hop back in the car and drive back to New Jersey. The good news is that he only missed a day of work.
“This dad is our rock!” Jill said. “Not many people in this world would do that. And the kids absolutely appreciate what he did for them.”
As any parent will tell you, childhood goes by way too fast, and in the blink of an eye, your toddler is graduating from high school, so you have to enjoy being a parent while you can. Kudos to parents like Nathan Montanez, who know there is only so much time to help your children have a wonderful childhood, and only so many opportunities to take your child to Disney World.
Unfortunately, canceled flights have become a severe problem in America, making vacations stressful for many Americans. Recently, the airline industry has been hit by a perfect storm that has made air travel less reliable than at any time in recent history.
One of the big reasons is that the Federal Aviation Administration has dealt with staffing issues. According to ABC News, the FAA expects to lose 1,300 controllers during the fiscal year 2023 due to retirements, promotions and other losses. Due to a pause in training over two years due to COVID-19, it has taken much longer to certify their replacements, leaving many airports short-staffed.
Airlines have also needed help with staffing after the downsizing that happened during COVID-19. During that time, they also decommissioned many planes, reducing capacity.
Climate change is also causing many problems with air travel, and that problem doesn’t show any sign of abating. “More heat in the atmosphere, thermodynamics 101—we’re going to have more thunderstorms,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told Politico.
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An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids…
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Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."