My second trip back flying this month I was sitting in the crew lounge working on my blog. I could hear two Skytresses near me talking. As the one Skytress was about to turn to go back to her chair, the other Skytress asked her what her name was. The Skytress replied, “Eileen”. I abruptly stopped typing and immediately looked up. For a moment, it was if Big Foot had made eye contact with the Loch Ness Monster. I curiously watched the Skytress sit down two chairs from me. You think I would have hesitated to tell her my name is Eileen, too. Nope. I didn’t. Rarely do I ever meet anyone that is named Eileen. When I spoke up and told the Skytress that my name is Eileen, she looked at me like the Loch Nest Monster had just spotted Big Foot. Of course, she asked me if I spelled my name E-i-l-e-e-n. If your name is Eileen, you would completely understand this. There are numerous spellings of our name. However, when you spell your name Eileen,…this without a doubt is the only acceptable spelling. We both chuckled after the Skytress asked me how I spell my name. Then we laughed even more when she said she didn’t like having this name as a child. I understood completely. We couldn’t buy any personalized items off the shelf. Everything had to be specially made. I used to wish my name was Kathleen when I was a child. It was Irish,…and you could always purchase a name tag for your bike at the store. She asked me if I knew Eileen meant, “light”. I smiled because I did. I told the Skytress I was named after my Mom’s sister. I told her I have several friends with the middle name Eileen. I, also told her, I’ve flown with many pilots who had Aunts named Eileen. My sister’s roommate in college was Eileen, too. But, I have never flown with another Eileen. She hadn’t either. However, she could name several Skytress from our airline with our name. I confessed to her I looked at the list of Skytresses in the retirement yearbook last week. The name list was complied using the first names in alphabetical order. I saw there were seven people named Eileen retiring. I was shocked. More importantly, I was happy. I now knew there are seven more Eileen’s out there lighting up the world.

One day I was flying from Detroit to Chicago. A Skytress for a regional airline came on board. She was deadheading to Chicago to work another flight. When she went to stow her bags her boarding card fell to the floor. I picked the ticket up and asked her if she would like her boarding card back. She said she didn’t need it. So I told her I would throw it away. As I was heading back to the galley, I looked at the boarding card to see the Skytress’ name. She was a very sweet young lady and I wanted to acknowledge her later using her first name. When I looked at her name I smiled. I couldn’t help myself. Her name was Sparkle Mars. What a happy name. I decided her name could be an expression someone would say to another person to have a great day. “Have a Sparkle Mars kind of day!” A person couldn’t help but smile after hearing this. I took a picture of the boarding card and texted it to Ron. I told him this was the name of a cute regional airline Skytress on my flight. I knew he would appreciate her name. Ron had a great sense of humor. And Ron loved astronomy. It was definitely a “twofer”. I told him to have a Sparkle Mars kind of day, because I was going to have one. He texted me back several smiling emojis. My new happy expression was already working magnificently.

I’m sure many of you will remember the red courtesy phones in the airports. Passengers were to pick the phone up to respond to a message from the airline. Passengers could also use the phone to page for someone in the airport. One day my crew and I were in Dallas on a sit. We didn’t want to go to the crew lounge and we didn’t want to go eat. We decided we would sit in the gate area and people watch. While we were sitting in the gate area, the airport PA system was paging for multiple passengers to pick up the red courtesy phone for a message. I told my crew I had once watched a comedian who did a skit about paging people with funny names in the hospital. This sparked something in my crew. We decided to page a few people, too. We wrestled with a few names. Eventually, our Skytress In-Charge went to the courtesy phone and paged Jim Shoe. Then we sat and waited. Over the airport PA we heard….”Passenger Shoe. Passenger Jim Shoe please pick up the red courtesy phone for a message”. We were beside ourselves laughing. We wondered how many people would get “gym shoe”? We knew someone must have heard the page and laughed. Then we paged Seymour Butts. We couldn’t control ourselves. We doubled over in our seats. The page for Seymour Butts and Jim Shoe had us four Skytresses cackling as passengers walked by. The passengers couldn’t help but smiled at us having a good time. Little did they know what we were up to. We then paged for Robin Banks. The best thing about the red courtesy phone was the airline would page the passengers for several minutes. To our delight, Jim Shoe and Seymour Butts and Robin Banks echoed throughout the Dallas airport. We figured the lady announcing the names had to be catching on. We stopped ourselves from paging for Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein was missing after the US-led invasion of Iraq. Everyone was looking for the dictator. We joked it could be possible the dictator was in the Dallas airport flying somewhere to evade being captured. Gratefully we recovered quickly from our laughing endorphin high. We wisely decided it was better to let the military find Saddam and for us not to lose our jobs.

Growing up we used to say the name Archibald McNulty for a curse word. My mom had heard the name when she was younger. She thought the name sounded like a curse word if you said it with the right tone. We weren’t allowed to curse when we were younger. But, we could say Archibald McNulty. So, we did. One day I was flying and I told this story to another Skytress. She loved the name Archibald McNulty and the story behind it. So, for three days she would pick up the airplane PA and page for Archibald McNulty. I giggled each time she made the PA. Then one day I was flying with my Skyter friend, Brian. Our first officer’s last name was McNulty. I told Brian the story about Archibald McNulty being a curse word in my family. Brian laughed. A few minutes later Brian was getting something out of one of our carts. When he stood up he forgot the retractable counter was extended. He hit the counter top with the top of his head. It made an awful sound. Without hesitation Brian said “Sean McNulty!” Sean McNulty was the first officer’s name. Brian said “Sean McNulty” was a much worse curse name than Archibald McNulty. Brian and I really laughed when he said this. We joked about “Sean McNulty” for the rest of the flight. I told Brian I was going to tell the first officer we were using his name as a curse word when we landed. Unfortunately, the pilots had a short turn time. The first officer went to the next airplane before I could tell him about the curse word. When our new pilots arrived Brian and I were goofing off and saying, “Sean McNulty” repeatedly. The Captain heard us saying “Sean McNulty”. He turned to us and said….”Sean McNulty? I know Sean McNulty. He’s a great guy”. Brian and I laughed even more. I told the Captain we were using his name as a curse word. I explained the Archibald McNulty story. I told the Captain Sean was a very nice guy. I felt a wee bit guilty using his name as a curse word. Several months later I flew with THE Sean McNulty. I told him the whole story about his name. He had a great sense of humor. He laughed. Whenever Brian sees the last name “McNulty” he will take a picture and text it to me. Fortunately for us there are a few “McNulty’s, at our airline. Sadly, we have yet to find an Archibald McNulty. And to that I say, “Archibald McNulty!!!”

When I was little my family moved from Butte, MT to Cincinnati, OH. We all thought we moved because my Dad was transferred with his job. Really we got transferred because God wanted me to meet my two best friends, Tara and Shannon. Tara can tell you all about the day we met. Tara is three days younger than me. Therefore, she has a better memory. Shannon and Tara are sisters. Tara is a year older than Shannon. We have been friends for 50 years now. Tara and I will be 54 in November. Yes, we three have been friends since we were wee little ones. Fifty years of friendship makes us sound awfully old. However, we all agree that laughter helps keep a person young. Fifty years of laughter has made us EXTREMELY young! You all can laugh at that comment. We will. It will make us at least a day younger.

Tara and Shannon came to visit us the day we moved into our house. They wanted to see if there were any kids in the new house they could play with. Lucky for all three of us, I was a kid….and I liked to play. The three of us played just about every day. We played with our dolls and barbies. We rode bikes and played with hoopla hoops. We played on our swing sets. We played school. We talked about our favorite Cincinnati Reds players as we hung out at the bar. Seriously, we did. Shannon and Tara’s Dad was the Ticket Director for the Cincinnati Reds. They had a custom-made bar in their house. The stools were made from Major League Baseball bats and bases. The top of the bar had a diagram of Riverfront Stadium inset in the top, along with tickets from All-Star Games, Play-off games and World Series games. We would sit at the bar and laugh and play. When Reds Manager Sparky Anderson came over, we would giggle and spy on him. He was a very kind man. I remember occasions when he signed his autograph on stacks of colored index cards for us, our sisters, my brother and numerous kids in the neighborhood. But, that is a story for another time. Rather, another blog post.

Without delay, I need to tell you about one of Tara’s favorite childhood memories. Actually, Tara would INSIST I tell you this story…..even though she tells it so much better than I do. One thing I love about Tara is, she loves a funny story. It doesn’t matter that it is at her expense, either. That actually makes Tara laugh even more. Who wouldn’t love a friend like that? One day Tara, Shannon and I were going to playing at my house. Tara was all dressed up because she was going to a birthday party later that day. Tara and Shannon were standing at the front door of our house ready to come in to play. My Mom was holding a glass of water when they came to the door. My Mom told Tara she looked really nice all dressed up. My mom then teased Tara that she was going to throw her glass of water on Tara’s nice birthday outfit. Tara and my Mom loved to tease each other, even when Tara was really young. Tara called my Mom’s bluff. She told my Mom to go ahead and throw the water at her. To my shock, my Mom did just that. Water went all over Tara’s party dress. I was stunned. Tara laughed. My Mom laughed. They thought it was the funniest thing ever. They still do. Tara and my Mom have an odd sense of humor. That’s why I love them both so much.

Shannon was very shy as a child. Tara was a great big sister and did most of the talking for her. One day we were at the Cincinnati Reds game. The guys behind us were a lively group. They went on and on about how delicious their peanuts were that they were eating. Even as kids we thought this was rather strange. We gave each other the, “those men are crazy look” and kept watching the game. Then one of the guys dropped his cigar. He asked Shannon to pick it up for him. He keep saying, “Little girl. Little girl. Will you pick my cigar up for me?” Shannon ignored him. The man told his buddies it was obvious the “little girl” didn’t speak to strangers. Well, she didn’t. She barely spoke to people she knew. I’m glad to say Shannon found her voice as she got older. She is a fabulous conversationalist. We talk about anything and everything. Shannon also learned not to be afraid to speak her mind either. She can actually be very feisty. Especially when it involves speaking up for, and protecting her children. She is a marvelous Mama Bear. These days Shannon would have turned around to those men at the baseball game and said something very witty. Those men would have instantly fallen in love with her. Oh, by the way, when we got home from the baseball game and I took my coat off….tons of peanut shells fell out of the hood of my coat. Shannon may have not spoken much when she was younger. But, boy…. she could laugh.

The Farrell’s moved away to Cleveland when Tara and I were in kindergarten. Their Dad went to work for the Cleveland Indians. Fortunately, our parents were great friends, too. Our families would visit each other often. The three of us, along with our sisters and my brother, Sean, would create our own fun. We would have dance contests in my brother Sean’s bedroom. We would put a black light in the lamp and blast the music. The best dancers would win. My brother never won. We girls made him dance with his purple stuffed frog. We also loved to put on a show for our parents. It was usually based on Snoopy and the Peanuts gang. We always ended the show with a dance finale. I know Shannon, Tara and I could still dance the “Locomotion” with very little preparation. Sadly, my go-to-dance moves these days are heavily based on my “Locomotion” dance moves from years ago.

Our families continued to visit each other even after the Farrell’s moved to Atlanta and my family moved to Pittsburg and then to St. Louis. It definitely helped that Shannon and Tara’s mom went to work for the airline. We would spend numerous weekends, holidays and summers together. Our two families morphed into one big family. If we weren’t visiting each other, Tara, Shannon and I would spend hours talking on the phone. We also loved to send each other letters…inside on the paper ….and outside on the envelope. We would write so many things on the outside of our envelopes it was a wonder the mailman could read the address. One summer we decided we would learn to speak Hawaiian. Well, as much Hawaiian as we could learn from the World Book Encyclopedia,…Aloha, Pehea ‘oe?….Hello, how are you? Yes, we were fascinatingly fun young ladies. Well, at least we thought we were. When we were younger we also loved to throw fascinating parties. Especially ones with a fabulous theme. We may not have been formally invited by Queen Elizabeth to attended the Royal Wedding with Charles and Diana. But, we threw a party in their honor anyway. We all dressed up. Tara decided to come as the Royal Tramp. But, a classy one. We celebrated the Americans at the 1984 Olympics, too. Shannon came as an American Luge Olympian. She even wore her socks to look like the booties on the uniform of the Luger. Her socks may not have looked exactly like Luge booties, but I assure you they were extremely aerodynamic. Of course, a party wouldn’t be a party without food. Our party food always included Tara’s favorite….lemon bars…and everyone’s favorite….M&M cookies. Many times we had to make two batches of cookies. The first batch we usually ate so much of the cookie dough we didn’t have enough batter to make the actual cookies. It wasn’t just a life of parties for us. No, when we were old enough to drive, and I visited the girls in Atlanta, we would go to the Atlanta Airport and ride the trains between concourses. Yes, we were hooligans! Tara and Shannon were responsible hooligans, though. They had jobs. They both worked several years at Partner’s Pizza in Peachtree City. We all loved Partners. Any time I would visit and Shannon and Tara weren’t working, we would hang out there with their friends. The pizza was award winning and so were their friends.

You may remember in a previous post that my beloved Ron was adamant that our paths crossed at the beach when we were younger. I know if Ron saw me at the beach…he most definitely saw Shannon and Tara. There hasn’t been a time when I wasn’t there without them. We would spend endless hours at the beach in Ponce Inlet. We would have dinner at Aunt Catfish’s or grouper sandwiches at Our Deck Down Under. We’d go into Daytona to the boardwalk if we were feeling crazy and ride the rides. Again the hooligans in us! We would pick out the less favorable hotels along the beach in Daytona and proudly say we owned them. When we were out driving, we would make their mom sit next to their dad in the car. Then we would duck down on the seats so people would think their parents were on a cheeky date. This was beyond hysterical to us when we were younger. Most afternoons would walk the beach and tell each other how we would redesign the houses we past. We had our own ideas on how to make them more beautiful. Years later, with husbands and kids now part of our lives, we walked these same beaches before the sunrise and admired the natural beauty God placed before us. No redesigns were necessary.

Yes, Tara and Shannon have their own families now. They have amazing kids. Their kids all inherited the things I love most about their moms. Their children are kind, smart, generous, and extremely funny. They also share their mother’s impeccable sense of style….both with fashion and with interior design. When Shannon’s daughter was five, she and I picked out the tile for my new house together. I laugh about this now. But, Ellen was spot on with her design selections. I happily paid Ellen’s design consultation fee with cookies from the bakery. Not surprisingly, both Tara and Shannon’s husbands are as generous and giving as them. They treat their wives exceptionally well. Tara and Shannon have been blessed with marvelous husbands. Ivan and Jay have blessed me with their unselfish generosity many times. More importantly they have blessed me with their friendship. I also love the fact that Ivan and Jay love to host amazing parties. This is a great attribute in all our books. You know how we three ladies have always loved a great party.

A few weeks ago I was making a Kentucky Derby theme dinner. I know this doesn’t come as a surprise to you since you know my love for the Kentucky Derby. Anyhow, I had a Willie Nelson song in my head. I asked our Alexa device to play some Willie Nelson songs. As I was cutting the tomatoes for my hot brown sandwiches, the song “Unfair, Weather Friend” with Willie and Merle Haggard started to play. I never heard this song before. The beautiful lyrics traveled straight to my soul. I began to cry. The song is about life-long friends that are their for you when you need them most. Especially, when life is unfair. I’ve listened to this song numerous times since and each time I cry. Shannon and Tara have faithfully been by my side when life has been spectacular. More importantly, they have been by my side when life has been unfair. They are my, “unfair, weather friends”. When I wrote my blog post about the day Ron died, I mentioned I texted my friends before I got on my plane to go home. Those friends were Tara and Shannon. I turned my phone off because I knew they would immediately be there for me. I didn’t want to reveal my broken heart to everyone in the gatehouse. But, when I got home to St. Louis, they both had left messages. A short time later they both cried with me …and for me …when when we talked more about Ron’s untimely passing. Willie Nelson sings….”Sometimes this whole world is my worst enemy. …And I know where to run when it gets to me….No one else but you can make it all make sense….My come whatever, unfair weather friend”. These lyrics capsulize the power of their friendship for me. My sweet dear friends have gently held my broken heart with me. Their unwavering love calms the erratic rhythm of my heartbeat even now when I have my hard days. Their love and laughter constantly remind me life is still incredible….even without my beloved Ron here with me. Yes, my life is absolutely incredible because God blessed me with Tara and Shannon.

I will eventually tell you more stories encompassing our fifty years of friendship. I’ll fill you in on Tara’s bionic hearing. I tell you about the girls teaching me to drive a stick shift. I wouldn’t deny you the funny story of us teaching our parents how to toilet paper a house. For now, I will leave you with a story that gave the three of us a hearty laugh recently. Tara and her family live in Maryland now. When COVID-19 was new and everyone went into quarantine, Tara used the Grubhub app to order food to be delivered to her Mom in Atlanta. Well, this particular June evening, Tara decided to order food for her family using the Grubhub app. A short time later Tara looked at her app and it said her food had been delivered. So, she asked her son Michael to go get the food on the porch. Surprisingly, the food wasn’t there. Tara checked the app again. Again she read that the food had been delivered. …It was delivered….It was delivered to her Mom in Atlanta! A few minutes later Tara’s Mom called asking Tara why on Earth Tara would order her so much food! Tara texted me right after her Mom called. We both couldn’t stop laughing. Weeks later this story still makes me laugh. I can only imagine the future funny stories we will share in the coming days and years. I know the laughter will keep us forever young. My life is forever exciting with my two best friends in it…..fifty years of friendship has most definitely been a testament to this fact.

I’m sitting here in my crew lounge wondering where the past six months have gone. It feels like yesterday I was heading home to start my vacation wondering what was going to happen to the world with COVID-19. Never could I imagine all that has happened. I am so grateful I was able to take the time off from flying and be there for my family. Not surprisingly, I didn’t sleep well last night before my first trip back flying. After thirty years of flying, I was extremely nervous about going to work. When I pulled into the employee parking lot I was shocked. There were very few cars. Usually, I have to park all the way at the end of an aisle. Today I parked next to the bus stop. There were only two other cars in the aisle with me. Happily, the shuttle driver still welcomed me aboard and then told me to have a safe flight as I left to go inside the airport. My St. Louis gate agents were still manning their posts…and as friendly as ever. I learned 20 St. Louis agents took the retirement package. I wasn’t shocked to hear this, but, it still made me sad. I admit, I did listen to all the PA’s the gate agents made in the gatehouse. We are now boarding from the back of the plane to the front of the plane. Once on the plane I listened intently to the PA’s the Skytresses made. So much has changed since I last flew. On deplaning passengers stay seated until the row ahead of them has retrieved their bags and are six feet ahead in the aisle. Amazingly, passengers adhered to this new deplaning procedure.

When I arrived in the crew lounge I saw boxes of face masks at the duty desk. One of the conference rooms is now a mandatory temperature check room. The health room where our on-site physical therapist treats Skytresses and Skyters is now a rapid COVID-19 test center for all employees. In 15 minutes any employee can find out if they have the virus. Our airline wants to continuously check the employees for the virus. Employees are also being tested for the COVID-19 antibodies. I, myself, go on Monday for this test. Our company is working in tandem with the Mayo Clinic to keep statistics on all the employees during COVID-19. After seeing all the changes in the lounge, I did spy several friends. Boy, it’s hard to recognize people with their face masks on and everyone in the same uniform. Almost everyone I encountered was returning to work for the first time, too. Many have vacation this month like me. We all decided flying only a couple trips this month would be a great way to ease back into flying. Looking around the crew lounge I dearly miss my friends that have retired. Many of my other friends are off on an extended company leave. I can’t wait until they come back to fly, too.

As, I write this,….I still have yet to work one of my flights. Yes, I’m sitting in the crew lounge a few hours before my trip. This part of my commute definitely hasn’t changed. I’m praying I have a good crew. Both of my Skytresses have the same first name. It can’t get much easier than that! Hopefully, at least one of them has flown a trip with the new protocols. As Ron would say, I feel discombobulated today. I feel like a new-hire Skytress. Tomorrow I’m sure I’ll feel like my old self. I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I’ll let you know in the next paragraph.

So,….I made it through my first day of flying. My crew has been fabulous. Actually, fabulous is an understatement. These Skytresses have been flying all through COVID-19. Shockingly, they are both commuters. They earned my respect for getting to the airport when there were hardly any flights to commute on. These ladies are a wee bit senior to me. They have been beyond gracious showing me the new ropes. I struggled a wee bit trying to incorporate the old ways with the new ways. Even though the new ways are exceedingly easier than the old ways.

I definitely made a few observations my first day back flying. First, the airport had a lot more people than I expected. This is great news for our ailing airline industry. My fellow Skytresses told me they saw more business people flying on Tuesday. I like to think the passengers have come back flying because I am finally back flying. However, I’m sure many are like me and feel it’s time to get down to business and get flying again. I’ve found the airports are very quiet. There are definitely less passengers. I guess face masks are another reason there is less noise, too. I know many of us have discovered these past few months that face masks muffle even the loudest of talkers. I noticed many airport shops and eateries are not open, yet. This is adding to the lack of noise. Also the constant beeping of the electric carts is missing. I don’t miss that noise at all! Wheel chair attendants also aren’t bustling from gate to gate. It is evident people with health issues are staying home. I completely understand. Social distancing is keeping the once lively banter of fellow travelers to a minimum….both in the airport and on the airplane. Seats are blocked in the gate house areas, as well as, on our airplanes. Even the banter between employees is missing. The pilots give a friendly briefing and then head to the cockpit. I am very cognizant they are in tight quarters in the cockpit. So, I haven’t spoken to them much. Even our interactions with the passengers has been altered. I no longer have to repeat our snack selection to each passenger. I simply ask them if they would like a snack bag. The ziplock snack bag contains a bottle of water, several snacks and a hand sanitizer. Our in-flight service only takes four minutes to complete. Passengers are gracious to get the snack bag….then are happy to see me move along. Everyone is concerned about social distancing. They are rightly concerned about their health and safety. They are also concerned about our health and safety, too. I truly appreciate their concern. Another missing familiar sound is the constant clanging of beverage carts and supply carriers. Most carriers are no longer boarded since we currently don’t need them. We no longer have coffee or coffee pots. Basically, there is nothing to set up. The awful sound of ice being pounded in the galley is also missing. There isn’t the rustling of ice being scooped into glasses either. There isn’t a cane of soda or a can of juice to pop open. Ice, soda and juice cans have been removed from the aircraft.

To my amazement, there isn’t a rush to board the airplanes. Cleanliness is our number one priority. The agents and crew have to be happy with the cleanliness of the airplane before anyone boards. If there is any issue, the cleaning team comes back before one passenger steps on the plane. This is why so many people are flying our airline. They know we have strict policies in place. Airplanes get sanitized before every flight with a fogging machine that kills COVID-19. In addition to the hand sanitizer in the snack bags, passengers are handed a sanitizing wipe as they board. Everyone on my flights has been compliant with the face mask and face covering requirements. The crew’s are also wearing masks and gloves for protection. Like many people, I’ve learned wearing a mask from 5:30 am to 9:30 pm makes the back of your ears hurt. I’ve also learned, rather quickly, that the plastic gloves impede with typing and swiping on our company issued electronic devices. Needless to say, I’ve washed, wiped and sanitized more things than I ever had in one day at work. When I got to my hotel room I repeated the process.

The second day of my trip went much better. I actually felt like a rested thirty- year Skytress! It helped that I got to sleep in after my first day of flying. Eventually, I was woken to a text from my friend telling me to look at my seniority number. I jumped almost 2900 numbers with all the retirements. I was pleasantly shocked. In the grand scheme of things I am still in the middle of Skytress seniority. Now I just have to figure out how the new seniority numbers coincide with everyone’s hire date. The most junior person jumped 4000 numbers. But, they are still the most junior person who graduated in March. ….Which I learned yesterday is called “the COVID Class”.

Okay, you are now reading a new paragraph. But, a lot has happened. I flew home to St. Louis between my two trips. I’m on a new trip with a new crew of Skytresses. I have another great crew. But, I’m starting to wonder if after COVID -19 I will recognize my fellow crew members without their masks. Times are sure mixed up right now. I did watch the Clemson football team deplane next to us when we were in Greensboro. Their players were all wearing nice suits. They all had face masks on and clear face shields. As I watched the players through the cockpit window, I was talking with our first officer. He told me he would be furloughed starting October 1st. He was former military and was hired by our airline last year. He hopes he won’t be furloughed too long. He is very optimistic. I am going to be optimistic, too.

Another new paragraph…another new day. Yesterday was 9-11. I watched an incredibly moving video in my hotel room late at night when I couldn’t sleep. A Skytress friend posted the video on Facebook about the Flight 93 National Memorial located just outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. I encourage everyone to watch it. It was informative and extremely touching. I am determined one day to visit the museum and pay my respect to those heroes. After I watched the video, I saw another 9-11 post from another Skytress friend. This post was about the thirty- three crew members that died on 9-11. I learned so many lovely personal details about each person. When I started to read the comments I broke down crying. Below the pictures of each crew member, were comments from their friends at American Airlines and United Airlines. As I read the comments, I could feel how they dearly missed their friends. Their hearts were broken. My heart broke for them.

It’s Sunday evening now. Boy, we have been on such a journey in this blog post! I am so relieved these past two trips went well. I’m now officially on vacation again. I will not fly until October. I am glad I went back flying this week. I faced a fear and I am glad I did. It was great to get back to my Skytress life. However, I haven’t forgotten I had six months off from flying, either. After six days of flying, I miss that life, too. I wanted to come back to fly and show myself that COVID-19 didn’t beat me. COVID-19 changed my Skytress life, but, it didn’t rob me of my Skytress career. But, by coming back to fly this week, I also learned I could peacefully walk away from flying, too. I had a taste of life outside of flying. It tasted good. I’m not sure how COVID-19 will continue to affect my world in the coming months. But, I am at peace. I’ve decided after flying these past six days …. I have nothing but blue skies whether that be on the ground or at 35,000 feet.

This Friday will be the nineteenth anniversary of 9-11. The other day when I was looking for pictures of my sister for my blog post about her, three pictures of the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York fell to the ground. I took these pictures when my family went back East. My sister Patti was running in the NYC marathon. We went to New York to cheer her on and to visit our relatives. I remember I loved the pictures of the towers when I got them developed. Now, I look at them and I am sad….and I remember. I remember September 11, 2001, like it was yesterday. I can no longer look at pictures of the airplanes hitting the towers. I turn my head. Though we may all fly for different airlines, we in the airline industry consider each other family. Thirty-three of our family members died on 9-11. This week I will again wear my 9-11 airline pin in honor of each crew member.

For several years after the terrorist attacks, I chose not to fly on September 11th. I know I am not the only one. I have talked to numerous crew members that didn’t and still don’t fly on the 11th. I, fortunately, was not flying on 9-11. I had transferred from Atlanta to Cincinnati and I had to switch my vacation dates. I had just moved into my new house in Cincinnati, so I changed my October vacation to September. The morning of September 11, I was heading across town to go to physical therapy to treat a bulging disk. I had the radio on in my car. I remember the DJ’s talking about a plane hitting the World Trade Center. I thought they were doing a skit like Orson Welles’, “War of the Worlds”, where martians invade the Earth. I couldn’t believe a radio station would air a skit as tasteless as this. I turned the radio off in disgust. When I entered the Medical building for therapy every one asked me if I heard what had happened. They all knew I was a Skytress. I stood in disbelief with them as we watched the television. When I got home I had numerous messages from friends checking to see if I was flying that day. I called them back as the cable man hooked up my TV cable for the first time in my new home. Then I sat for days by myself watching Peter Jennings on ABC World News Tonight. He talked and I cried. Everyone in my neighborhood lit candles and placed them on our porches at night. We all hung out our American flags. These were simple gestures to express our utter sadness….and our resilience as a nation.

I was in Atlanta days before 9-11 with my friends and my family. My best friend, Tara, a Skytress for United, was married on September 8th. There were several people from her airline and my airline in Atlanta for the wedding. Our friend, John, a Secret Service Agent on President Bush’s detail, was also there for the wedding. We all made it back to our respective homes before 9-11 and before the skies went quiet. Needless to say, my heart ached for my friends that flew for United. Tara told me American Airlines sent a flower wreath to their crew lounge. I can’t imagine how powerful that was to see. I thought about that days later when I was in our crew lounge preparing for my first trip after the terrorist attacks. I remember walking by our duty desk in our crew lounge. Skytresses and Skyters were calling in to get off their trips. No questions were asked when they called in. Everyone understood. I went to my flight with my crew. Our crew briefing with the pilots was like no other. John’s email warning me to be careful and keep my eyes open for anything usual had me on full alert. However, I quickly felt empowered when the handful of passengers came on the airplane. Even though we were all nervous about flying for the first time after the attacks, I knew with certainty they were now part of our crew. We all had each other’s backs if anything happened on the flight. Several weeks later, I was flying when American Airlines flight 587 crashed in New York City. I remember our Skytress-In Charge was called to the cockpit. The pilots told her a plane had gone down in NYC. They suspected it was an accident, but the FAA wasn’t sure it wasn’t another terrorist attack. They told her we were over Atlanta, so if we had to land, Atlanta would be our airport. I can honestly say when our Skytress-In Charge first told us this, I thought I was going to be sick. It took me a moment to regain my composure. I felt guilty for hoping it was just a plane crash. The passengers had no idea about the American airplane. We Skytresses acted as if everything was normal, but we started to develop an action plan just in case. Thankfully we landed in Cincinnati without any incident.

The topic of conversation for our crews the next few days and weeks centered around whether you were flying on September 11th. I flew with one Skyter that went out on a one day trip with no luggage. He got grounded in Boise, Idaho for a few days. He told me every morning he would go to the sports bar behind the hotel and buy a $2 sports team t-shirt to wear for the day. Then there was the story of the Cincinnati Skytresses thinking outside the box for getting home from Atlanta. They knew renting a car was no longer an option…..all cars had been rented. They decided to rent a U-Hall van. A passenger on their flight drove them to the U-Hall facility. They made it home safely. I flew with another Atlanta Skytress that told me her daughter and a pilot’s son were taken to the principal’s office on 9-11 and were told what had happened to the World Trade Center towers. She said the principal wanted to put the children at ease that their parents were not on the airplanes. It only made them more scared that something could happen to their parents that day, too. Her story definitely made me wonder about all the other experiences the children of airline employees across the world encountered on that awful day.

I flew with another Skytress that was at Reagan Airport in Washington D.C. on 9-11. She said she and the first officer were out walking the concourse between flights. They could see smoke outside. They thought it was just a big fire. Then there was an announcement that passengers needed to evacuate the airport. Airline crews were to report to a designated area. The Skytress said they were told about the airplanes hitting the towers and the smoke they were seeing was from another plane hitting the Pentagon. There was great concern that the airport could be another target, so they needed to evacuate, too. She told me all the crews left the airport and walked to the airport hotel. She said people were evacuating the city in their cars en mass as they walked along the roads to the hotel. She, also informed me, to this day she never leaves the plane without water. She explained it was a warm day in D.C. She told me she became extremely thirsty walking with all her bags to the hotel. No one thought about bringing water for the hot walk. They were in shock and just wanted to get away from the airport. When they arrived at the hotel one of our airline Captains took a copy of each crew’s flight rotations to call the company and tell them who was at the hotel. The Skytress said they could smell the jet fuel and smoke the whole time they were there. She recalled how she quietly sat in her hotel room and listen to the fighter jets continuously fly overhead. I thought about this story several years later when I was in D.C. the night before 9-11. I had flown on other 9-11’s and I never had an issue. That night I started to have a panic attack. I was in the same hotel as the Skytress had been staying in on 9-11. I could hear airplanes flying overhead. I worried about someone defiantly crashing one of those planes into the airport. I texted Ron that I couldn’t sleep. He asked me why. I told him I was in D.C. and tomorrow was 9-11. He told me he understood. He sent me some funny texts to ease my mind. Then he called me to check on me. He gave me some breathing techniques to use so I could calm my nerves and go to sleep. Hours later, I standing was in the crew security line at the airport. The passenger security line was next to us. Several passengers were wearing 9-11 pins and 9-11 patriotic shirts. We silently acknowledged each other and the fact that it was 9-11. No one on my crew said anything about it being September 11th. On the last leg of our day, our young Skyter-In Charge came back in the plane and asked us if we knew it was September 11th. He completely forgot until a passenger said something. The rest of us Skytresses knew it was 9-11. Unlike him, we all were flying in 2001. We Skytresses had been thinking about it all day. No one wanted to say anything. We all decided separately that we wanted to quietly make it through the day.

I remember when the National September 11 Memorial and Museum was first opened in New York. The lines into the memorial were long. However, if you were an airline crew member you were able to go in before other visitors. This was a small way the memorial recognized the airline crews as being the first responders on 9-11. Our security training since 9-11 has changed drastically. This is largely in part because of what we know the crews and passengers on United and American did to try to stop the hijackings. I like to remind younger Skytresses and Skyters what our protocols were prior to 9-11. I like to tell them about the strict procedures we had to follow flying into certain cities, such as Washington D.C., right after the terrorist attacks. I wear my 9-11 pin so the younger generation of Skytresses and Skyters will know that we must always honor those crews that died on 9-11. Friday as I fly my trip, I will look out the airplane window and say a prayer for all those who died on September 11th. I will pray for all those who mourn them. I will say an extra prayer for the crews of American Flight # 11, United Flight 175, American Flight #77, and United Flight #93. After all, we are family and I will forever honor and remember them.

Yesterday,…Wednesday, I got my September trip schedule. I know you are reading this blog post Monday. Yes, I start my blog posts about a week out. It takes me a week of dabbling here and there to get my blog right for Monday. I’m sorry if I shattered the illusion that I sit down Monday and effortlessly write my blog. But,….I digressed. Like I said, I got my September schedule on Wednesday. You may remember, I left for vacation on March 9th. Almost six months later….September 8th, I will return to fly. Am I scared to go back flying? Yes. COVID is still out there. I’m not afraid of getting it. I’m afraid of bringing it home and getting my family sick. I’m also nervous because so much has changed at my airline. Numerous protocols and many new PA’s have been implemented. I, also, have an irrational fear I’ll have a temperature with the new mandatory crew temperature testing. I’m not fearful of having a temperature due to the virus,….but, because I’m usually hot in my uniform. Sweating hot….not sexy hot! It’s an unfounded fear because I have had my temperature taken many times at doctor’s appointments and at the hair salon. Each time I have been fine. Fortunately, I have friends that have been flying since self-quarantines went into effect with COVID-19. I know with certainty they’ve battled their own COVID fears and concerns every day. Now it is my turn to battle COVID on a larger battlefield. I’ve done small battles with COVID these past few months. I donned my gear and cautiously went to the grocery store. I finally marched to the doctors after procrastinating for months. I’ve even removed my mask and had a facial. Now, I am going to cautiously commence a forward advance on the COVID battlefield and reclaim a big part of my life. Of course, I’ll miss the TV rodeos I’ve newly discovered these past few weeks. But, hey, we all know, there usually is some collateral damage in battles .

I’ve watched so many people these past few months take back their lives in big and small ways. They’ve haven’t let COVID win. Things started off small for some…a walk around the neighborhood….getting the courage to go to the stores or picking up restaurant meals. It sounds silly, but, these were once major decisions for many. Then actors John Krasinski and Leslie Jordan took to Instagram and helped people smile and laugh again. John created the much needed, “Some Good News”. Leslie talks directly to us on Instagram and makes us howl with his pillow talk posts. These two won’t let COVID win. I applaud them. I also look forward to their posts everyday. They fill my soul with much needed happiness.

Then there were the graduates that got punched in the gut by COVID. They were denied the celebrations so many of us got to experience. But, graduates and the people that love them, learned to pivot. They found creative ways to celebrate the scholarly accomplishments. They had parades. They had home graduations. They had virtual graduations. They had social- distancing graduations on football fields. They battled COVID by outsmarting it and won.

COVID has been wreaking havoc with birthday celebrations, as well. Birthday party parade celebrations are now the norm. Creative yard signs have started popping up everywhere. I love it! Many of us didn’t know about Zoom parties. But we do now. Kudos to birthdays for battling COVID and being victorious.

People in nursing homes have taken a vicious hit from COVID. Many residents have gotten the virus. Sadly, many have died. Nursing homes are still on lockdown. My heart breaks for those who haven’t been able to see or hug their loved ones in months. However, there are small victories to celebrate. Some nursing homes have figured out how to use plexiglass to let families visit. A few creative places have constructed safe hugging booths. One lovely lady got a part-time job in the nursing home where her husband was living because of Alzheimer’s…just so she could see him. These people went hand-to- hand combat with COVID and are winning.

COVID has ravaged thousands of wedding plans. Brides and grooms are being denied experiences they’ve dreamed about all their lives. Many have postponed their wedding….some several times. These couples will let COVID think it’s won. But, they will eventually get married when the time is right for them. Oh, but, the really determined….they have found ways to beat COVID at it’s nasty game. They haven’t let COVID snatch the date they happily chose months before. These couples have gotten married at home, in empty churches, on beaches and even in their front yards with their neighbors being witnesses to their special day. These couples kept their wedding dates and defied COVID. These couples are celebrating the true meaning of a wedding day….the joining of two lives before God. Everyone knows, if you have that, you really don’t need anything or anyone else on your wedding day. I raise my glass in a congratulatory toast to those of you that battled COVID and said “I, do.”

Of course, there have been births and funerals these past few months. I know expectant parents have worried about being in hospitals where so many COVID patients were and are being treated. My heart breaks for those families that couldn’t be at their loved one’s side to say goodbye before God called them back home. But, my heart is filled with love for the frontline people that comforted a dying person or said a prayer in place of family member before the last breath was taken. I say extra prayers at night for all of them. Funerals with masks and social distancing is not a proper send off for a life well- lived. COVID…. I hate you for this!

If you still have a job, I believe you beat COVID. If you can still pay your bills, I believe you beat COVID. If you have traveled more than 10 miles outside your home, I believe you beat COVID. I haven’t traveled more than 10 miles from my house. But, I can still get out to places. So, I believe I beat COVID in this battle, too. I am not quarantined alone, so I am blessed. I can even attend church on-line. Even though I am in St. Louis, I have been going to Mass at the church Ron and I attened in Georgia. The past few weeks, I’ve watched couples renew their wedding vows on their 50th wedding anniversaries. And I’ve delighted in seeing catechumen become Catholic. These are glorious victories in my book.

These past few months I’ve pretty much avoided the news. Well, at least the highlights on the evening news. I have watched many press conferences with Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx. I’ve watched the heads of companies in their briefings talk about how they are pivoting to meet the supplies and demands since COVID. I read about the numerous vaccines that are being tested. I have less fear and more hope because of this. However, like so many, I have been beaten by COVID on several occasions. I’ve said and done things in anger. I know the stress of living in the world of COVID isn’t normal. Consequently, I’ve lashed out at those I love most. I also have seen people in the news lash out at others in stores and restaurants. When I see this, I know just like me, COVID beat these people on these days, too. Stress rears its ugly head at the worst times. Everything about COVID is stressful. There is a saying I love that says, “Rudeness is a weak person’s imitation of strength.” I believe COVID has made us weak at times and rudeness is a by-product. I was reminded today of James 1:26….”26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless”. I profess, I am going to keep a tighter reign on my tongue. Sadly, COVID likes to battle us relentlessly on this ground.

Like so many, I like to look on the positive side of things. I truly believe we choose our attitudes everyday. So, I try to remember to choose a positive one,…especially now with COVID. I acknowledge, because of COVID, I’ve spent more quality time with my family and my dog Finley. All my family members and I are healthy. COVID hasn’t changed that. I’ve seen the beauty of people coming together to help their fellow man during COVID. I’ve seen people pivot and then pivot again to outsmart COVID. Our house is more organized and cleaner than ever….a by-product of COVID. I’ve read a lot during quarantine. I’ve also been spending many hours in my art room blissfully creating. As you all know, I started this blog. Yes, I’ve battled COVID in my own personal ways. I have been victorious more than I have been beaten. On September 8th, I will put on my Skytress uniform. I will pack my bags, armed with face masks, hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes. I will be nervous, of course. But my airline family will be there for me…and with me. I will battle COVID as best as I can until the vaccines are here. Have no fear. Like Dan Rather, I will report from the front-line. After all, I am The Rerouted Skytress.