I feel sorry for you people working today. I had retired long before the 9/11 business and before PC and anti-terrorist measures took over completely. It would drive be absolutely mad if I were working in today's climate
During my career, several times I had messages from the back that we had a nervous passenger who would like to see us. Typical was the evening when one man was terrified of the flashes from distant thunderstorms. I invited him to the flight deck, showed him the radar and he appreciated how we pilots were really enjoying the free light show. His fears were certainly calmed and he thanked us profusely.
I have a daughter who when young was terrified of thunderstorms. I started showing her growing cu-nims and saying how they might develop into thunderstorms. She began to understand and no longer has any fears.
The pre-PC era is amusing to look back on. I was flying with a very senior pilot who was in the right hand seat. A young boy visited the flight deck and the senior pilot was all too happy to have him sit on his lap (!) and let him "pretend" to hold the control column! It seemed harmless at the time but what on earth would people make of all that nowadays?
Jack Harrison