This Halloween my neighborhood isn’t going to have it’s Haunted Forest. No COVID is much more scary than the Haunted Forest ever was. There also won’t be trick or treaters this year in my neighborhood. Less candy around our house will not be a bad thing. I plan on making a pumpkin-flavored Jack O’Lantern cake instead. I have to do SOMETHING for Halloween. You all know how I love a good theme! I couldn’t resist making light-up ghosts for the front porch, either. Darn Pinterest!!!! I wasn’t sure if I was going to put Halloween out this year. But, my neighborhood was starting to get decked out in orange and black. The blow-up decorations were popping up everywhere. It all made me smile. Boy, do we need smiles this year! I howled when my neighbor put her scary mannequin in her hammock. He is definitely relaxing this Halloween. I vote my neighbor, Kim, as the Halloween decorations winner with her spooktacular sense of humor! I remember one year I bought a witch in Mobile, Alabama, on my layover. I hung it from our front porch on a broom with bats flying around her. I loved that witch. My Dad wasn’t a fan of her. When I came home with my witch, I put her in the rocking chair in the family room. That October my sister and her girls were living with my parents while their house was being built. In the middle of the night one of my nieces got out of bed. She saw the witch in the chair. Only she didn’t know it was a “material” witch. She got so scared she went in my parent’s room and woke my Dad up. She told my Dad there was a scary person in the family room. My Dad got out of bed not sure who he was going to encounter. Yep, it was my witch happily sitting in the rocking chair. My Dad chided me for leaving her there and scaring my nieces. I thought my innocent mistake was hysterical. I cackled just like my material witch would have,….if she could have!

Halloween has never been one of my favorite holidays. Sure, I love candy. I just hated trying to think of a Halloween costume to wear each year to go out and get some. My favorite Halloween costume was my Bugs Bunny costume I wore when I was a young girl. The costume came with a face mask. I can still feel the moisture on my face from the warmth of my breath hitting the plastic mask in the cold air. I would stick my tongue through the small mouth slit constantly. It was weirdly comforting to me. Plus, I thought it was funny to see my tongue poke through that little mouth slit. My costumes after Bugs Bunny were your basic hobo and witch costumes. My friend Liesl had fabulous costumes. Her Mom sewed them. My Mom didn’t sew. But, she could smear green eye-shadow all over my face and plop a witch hat on my head…and off I would go on my Halloween route. Every year I would walk the same route. I always went up the street to the house where the man worked for a toy company. Each year I picked a yo-yo toy. Yes, he allowed us to choose our favorite toy out of his candy bowl. Eventually, I would head down the street to the house where the woman made popcorn balls. They were my favorite. I loved them more than any of my candies. Sadly, I always forgot to go to the Clatt’s house. Rick worked for Nestle. He gave out one-pound chocolate bars to each trick or treater. The Clatt’s weren’t on my Halloween route. They were on my sister’s and brother’s routes, though. Each year, they would come home after I took my costume off and proudly pull the one-pound candy bars out of their pillow cases. It was always at this moment I would remember…. that…. I forgot to go to the Clatt’s house….again!!! Somehow, those one-pound candy bars always went to work with my Dad. He liked to go trick or treating in our freezer after we put our Halloween candy in there.

I was so happy when I outgrew trick or treating. I no longer had to worry about a Halloween costume. There were a few Halloweens when I commuted to Cincinnati. My friends would have parties and they would always invite me. Trying to think of a Halloween costume I could fit in my Skytress suitcase was never an easy task. I eventually just wore my regular clothes and went as a Skytress on a layover. No one seemed to question my outfit. They were just happy I came to the party. I always was happy I came, too. They were extremely fun friends. Plus, unlike me, they all were very creative with their costumes. If I had enough room in my suitcase, I would have rented a bunny costume. Not like my Bugs Bunny costume or a Playboy Bunny outfit. Rather, the Easter Bunny. To this day, it is my dream costume. One day I will hand out Halloween candy as the Easter Bunny. Several years ago, I almost dressed up one Halloween to give out candy. I bought a fabulous witch hat in the Minneapolis airport. It had marvelous black feathers around the rim. I saw the hat in my favorite airport shop. It was expensive. However, after I saw it, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The following week when I was passing through Minneapolis, I went back to the shop to look at the hat. Amazingly, it was on sale because Halloween was fast approaching. Of course, I bought it. My dog Finley barked excessively when I put it on to hand out candy. So, never wore it. I can only imagine what she will do if I wear the Easter Bunny costume to hand out candy. Finley, apparently, loves me just the way I am!

Most Halloweens I would chose to fly. More Skytresses and Skyters call out sick on Halloween than any other day at my airline. I figured if I flew the holiday someone else would be able to be off and not call in sick. After I moved back to St. Louis, I would bid the day off. I loved seeing my nieces get all dressed up to go trick or treating. My niece Jill still gets dressed up at college. This year she is going as Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She even painted scenes on her shoes. She is a Halloween enthusiast!

My favorite Skytress Halloween memories occurred when I was a relatively new Skytress based in Cincinnati. My crew and I were scheduled to fly to Cleveland and then back to Cincinnati. After that, we were to fly to Denver and then to Calgary to layover. Our Skytress In-Charge brought a multitude of Halloween decorations with her in her flight bag. Her Dad was going to join us in Cincinnati and come with us to our Calgary layover. So, she wanted to decorate the plane for him and the other passengers. We flew to Cleveland with a full airplane. While we were there the weather in Cincinnati deteriorated. A spooky Halloween snow storm had moved in. Surprisingly, crew scheduling decided they didn’t want us to fly back to Cincinnati. Crew scheduling was afraid the plane would get stuck in Cincinnati with the weather. So, the schedulers decided we would fly directly from Cleveland to Denver. I felt bad for our Skytress In-Charge. Her Dad was in Cincinnati and wouldn’t be able to fly to Calgary with us. Unlike our full-flight from Cincinnati to Cleveland, we didn’t have many passengers in Cleveland flying to Denver. We, actually, only had 1 passenger. That was passenger Ed. Ed was really cool. When we first referred to him by his last name, he said just to call him Ed. Ed quickly realized when he was the only passenger on our flight, we were all going to have a lot of time to get to know each other. Thus, formalities were not necessary. Ed was at a wedding prior to getting on our flight. He told us he had a lovely dinner at the wedding. He had already had his cocktails for the evening at the wedding, too. I think he felt a wee bit guilty we couldn’t get him anything and finally decided to have a Coke to make us happy. Ed was extremely nice. We had a fantastic time talking to him and kidding with him. Our Skytress In-Charge, Susan, told Ed she had Halloween decorations for the plane. She asked him if he would like to help us decorate the airplane to help pass the time. Ed, thought this was a great idea. He helped us string crepe paper from the front of the plane to the back. He helped us make ghosts out of the pillow cases. He helped us string cobwebs from the overhead bins. Skytress Susan, also, brought a fake arm with her. We placed that in an overhead bin so the arm was hanging out. Of course, we had to put cobwebs in the hand, too. Later, when we got to Denver the Captain got a boarding card and put it in the fake hand. He had wrote “reduced fair” on the boarding card. After we decorated the plane, we all headed back to first class to chit-chat some more. We were on the Boeing 727. Our three pilots took turns coming out to talk to us and passenger Ed. It felt more like a casual friends gathering than an actual flight. When we got to Denver we were all so sad to see passenger Ed leave. I still think about passenger Ed when I fly into Cleveland or Denver. I hope passenger Ed has fond memories of this flight, too.

When we boarded the plane in Denver, the looks on the passenger’s faces were priceless. They saw all the Halloween decorations and couldn’t make heads or tails of it all. They were dumbfounded. They actually questioned the decorations. We just smiled and said, “Happy Halloween!” I’m quite sure, later, they told all their friends they had the weirdest flight from Denver to Calgary. We didn’t mind their lack of enthusiasm for our Halloween decorations. We had enough enthusiasm to make us quite proud of our and Ed’s hard work. Of course, when we got to Calgary we left all the decorations up in the plane. The ground crew in Calgary loved it. They completely understood our Halloween spirit. We did, however, take the fake arm with us. Skytress Susan made sure it was hanging out of her bag as we walked through the airport. My crew and I loved that she did this. When we went through customs, not one customs officer questioned her about her fake arm. I guess they have seen it all. We, on the other hand, couldn’t contain our laughter. Skytress Susan had a great sense of humor. When we got to our layover hotel we ran to our rooms to quickly change out of our uniforms. We planned to meet back in the lobby to go get some dinner. As you may remember from last week’s post, we love to eat at my airline! Skytress Susan brought the fake arm with her when we went to eat. We all walked happily down the street to the restaurant with the arm handing out of Susan’s over-sized purse. No one on the streets or in the restaurant batted an eye. I’m positive they all knew we were Americans. I’m sure many Canadians think we Americans are all a wee bit weird at times. We had the best evening at the restaurant. Sadly, I cannot remember the name of the restaurant. But, I do remember it was hands-down the best pizza I have ever had. Maybe it was the the spirit of Halloween that made the pizza taste better. It didn’t hurt. No matter what it was, it is still one boo-tiful Halloween memory.

I was so happy this summer when I discovered the Cowboy Channel. I watched countless rodeos as I quarantined. It was pure happiness for my Montana soul. Surprisingly, a few weeks ago, I switched from my Cowboy channel to the Hallmark Channel. I didn’t mean to do it. It just happened naturally. One night my rodeo was a repeat. So, I clicked down a few channels. Before I knew it, I was drawn into …..a pumpkin farmer meets a rich city girl trying to make a living…drama. I watched the whole movie. Then I watched the next one. Almost every night since I have watched a Hallmark movie. However, I watch them differently now. I always watch the first ten-minutes. Then I multitask…..either reading, writing or checking out Pinterest. I refocus about 15 minutes prior to the movie’s ending. There always is a disagreement or misunderstanding about that time. Three minutes to the end of the movie everything works out perfectly with either a kiss or a wedding. I’ve seen a lot of weddings! I’ve seen church weddings. Weddings in parks. Even a few weddings in a barn. Amazingly, I have yet to see a wedding in a Holiday Inn lobby. No, those aren’t the kinds of weddings for the Hallmark Channel. Those weddings are for flight crews on their layovers. Remarkably, I’ve witnessed two Holiday Inn lobby weddings so far. As I told my incredulous crew’s at each wedding we saw, …”You have to get married somewhere”.

I’m not sure if the Holiday Inn has a lobby wedding package. But, I find it ironic that both weddings happened at this hotel chain. The first hotel lobby wedding took place in Monroe, Louisiana, at the Holidome. I’ll admit, I never really took notice of the hotel lobby before the wedding. This hotel offered flight crews 50% off in the hotel restaurant. Every layover we couldn’t get our room keys fast enough. We”d get our keys and run to our rooms to change into layover clothes. When we said we would meet in the restaurant in 10 minutes, we meant it. Actually, we would be in our seats looking over the menu in less time than that. This hotel had the best fajitas we ever tasted. Okay, maybe they tasted better because they were 50% off. This particular layover my crew and I were happily eating our meal when our Skytress In-Charge looked into the hotel lobby from her seat in the restaurant. We thought she was delirious from the amazing fajita aroma when she said she thought a wedding was about to take place in the hotel lobby. Not surprisingly, we all stopped eating when she said this. Before we could put our fajitas back on our plates, she shockingly proclaimed the woman was marrying a child! I don’t care how great those fajitas were. When someone tells you a woman is marrying a child in the hotel lobby, you put your fajitas down and look. Before we could get out of our chairs, our Skytress In-Charge realized the woman’s son was walking her down the aisle. We still walked over to the restaurant windows and looked into the hotel lobby. Sure enough, a young man was walking his mom down the aisle, as a hotel guest was checking in less than 5 feet away. One of my Skytresses questioned who would get married in a hotel lobby. I mentioned to her that everyone looked extremely happy….the bride, the groom, the young man and the Minister. I then turned to my fellow Skytress and said, “You have to get married somewhere “. This silly response seemed to make sense to everyone. A few minutes later we went back to our table and ate our fajitas. Fajitas definitely taste better when they are 50% off. But, they taste magnificent when they are 50% off and a hotel lobby wedding is thrown in for free.

The other hotel lobby wedding took place at the Holiday Inn in Flynt, Michigan. Once again, my crew was getting together to eat shortly after we arrived. We do love to eat at my airline! Anyhow, I decided I would take the stairs to the lobby to meet my crew. As I exited my room and started walking towards the stairs, I walked by several bridesmaids in the hall. I surmised they were getting ready to go to a wedding. Well, they were. I just didn’t know they would be following me down the stairs 3 minutes later for the actual wedding. Luckily, I was sitting on the couch in the hotel lobby waiting for my crew before the bridesmaids came down the stairs. As I sat on the couch, the first officer exited the hotel elevator. I know he didn’t expect to see people in the hotel lobby. It was empty minutes before when we checked in. He had a shocked look on his face when he saw all the nicely dressed people sitting in chairs. By this time, the groom and Minister were standing in front of the guests. The first officer walked past the man checking in at the front desk. He sat next to me on the couch. Before he could say anything, the music started. We watched the bridesmaids and bride come down the stairs. The Minister started to speak. As we sat on the couch in our layover clothes, the first officer turned to me and whispered, “Do you feel weird?” I whispered back, “Yes”. Before anymore of our crew members came down, the wedding was over. Our Skyter In-Charge came out of the elevator as everyone was applauding the married couple. He gave us a bewildered look as he walked towards us. Before he could say anything, the first officer informed the Skyter he had just missed the wedding. The Skyter surveyed the wedding party. He turned and observed the gentleman checking into the hotel. He then spun back to us and asked, “Who gets married in a hotel lobby?” I smiled at him and said, “You have to get married somewhere.”

I believe the phrase, “You have to get married somewhere”, started when my family and friends were in Ponce Inlet, Florida. Yes, we were on our annual vacation in Ponce Inlet. We decided one day to have lunch outside at a restaurant near the Ponce Inlet lighthouse. While the waitress was making her way around all our tables to get everyone’s orders, my friend noticed a couple a few tables down. She mentioned to those of us sitting next to her she thought the couple was about to get married. Sure enough they were. A short time later, as we sat eating our grouper sandwiches, the couple made their way to the end of the restaurant’s boardwalk. With the beautiful Atlantic Ocean behind them, they said their “I, do’s”. The wedding party consisted of the bride, the groom, the Minister and a friend or family member taking pictures of the ceremony. We all agreed that when the pictures were developed they would be beautiful. All anyone would ever see was the couple and the picturesque ocean behind them. No one would ever know, that a few feet away, a group of twenty-plus vacationers were eating their meals watching the couple get married. We wondered if the location the couple chose to get married was meaningful to them prior to their wedding. Some one in our group said, “You have to get married somewhere. It might as well be here with the ocean behind them”. I’ve used this saying many times since. I usually follow it up by saying, “It doesn’t matter where you get married….just as long as you are happy.” I truly mean this.

Many couples are deciding the, “You have to get married somewhere”, means a destination wedding. Throughout my career I’ve had many brides-to -be ask me if I could put their wedding dress in our coat closet. They always implore us to be careful not to wrinkle their dress. Some flights I have multiple dresses in my closet. Especially when I fly into Cancun or the Bahamas. I always try my best not to wrinkle the dresses. But, anyone who has seen our airplane’s coat closets, knows this is easier said than done. When brides fly home after their wedding, they have a completely different attitude. They happily tell us we can squish their wedding dress in the closet if we have, too. Now, squishing I can do! One time a bride deplaned without taking her wedding dress. We joked she changed her mind on our flight about getting married. One Skytress on my crew recalled how earlier in the flight I said “You have to get married somewhere”. She laughed and said the bride that left her dress, “didn’t want to get married ANYWHERE!”

Skytresses also have “to get proposed to somewhere”. A Skytress friend of mine got engaged on her layover. Her boyfriend went to our layover hotel and told the people at the front desk what he planned to do. They wholeheartedly helped him with his plan. When my friend arrived at the hotel, the people at the front desk told her they had a special room for her. As she headed to the elevator, they called her boyfriend in her hotel room. When the Skytress got to her door there was a diamond ring hanging from the door handle. She questioned her crew. Her boyfriend then opened the door and surprised her. He told her she not only had the key to her hotel room, she also had the key to his heart. He then got down on one knee and asked her to marry him.

Another Skytress proposal happen in the jetway in Dallas. This one I actually saw. We had an extra Dallas Skytress working our flight to Dallas. She was finishing her trip there. The deplaning process was very chaotic that day. We had several people needing wheelchair assistance and several children traveling alone that we had to walk off the airplane. Our pilots that flew us to Dallas were in the jetway briefing with our new pilots. While all this was going on, I noticed a young gentleman standing in the jetway with flowers. This was pre 9-11 when security wasn’t as strict. I asked the gentleman if he was waiting for someone. He said he was waiting for our Dallas Skytress. I went into the airplane and told the Skytress a gentleman was waiting in the jetway for her. She immediately walked out with me. She saw the bouquet of flowers. She sheepishly told me it was her boyfriend and then walked over to see him. The boyfriend gently took the Skytress to the side of the jetway and started to propose to her. I was flabbergasted and overjoyed at what I was seeing. The pilots were unaware of what was taking place merely feet away from them. They were still happily chattering away. I quickly went up to them and told them they were missing the proposal taking place next to them. They all stopped talking. The poor Skytress got embarrassed. She turned to us and explained she and her boyfriend had been living together for years. They had plans to get married. So, it wasn’t really a proposal. We begged to differ. Her boyfriend had flowers and a beautiful ring. We smiled and told her this was an actual proposal. We clapped and congratulated the couple. She got more embarrassed. She ran back into the plane and got her bags. Her fiancé waited awkwardly for her to return. They eventually walked up the jetway together. She was holding her flowers. He held her hand and pulled her suitcase up the jetway for her. I’m sure now when they tell the story of their proposal their memories are a wee bit sweeter and quite possibly more funny, as they recall the chaos in the jetway. I like to believe they are still married. I’m quite sure they had a beautiful wedding. I can only wonder where they got married. But, as you know by now,…”You have to get married somewhere”.

I’ve been sitting alone on my Skytress jumpseat a lot more than usual lately with our new COVID-19 protocols. Skytresses and Skyters are no longer sitting next to each other on the jumpseat. On some planes we actually are sitting in passenger seats. Our airline is very conscious about social distancing. I appreciate my company not only looking out for the passenger’s health, but, our health, as well. So, instead of congregating in the galley after our service,….these days, we usually head to our respective jumpseats and social distance from each other. Ah, the jumpseat. Passengers are extremely intrigued about our jumpseats. At times, their curiosity gets the best of them. For, they will blatantly stare at me as I sit on my Skytress jumpseat. Prior to COVID, on certain airplanes, I sat directly across from passengers. Our bodies would be inches away from each other. Yep, it was uncomfortable for everyone…..especially for me. For some reason, however, some passengers don’t mind if they are touching me with their body. I’ve always found this rather odd on their part. Then again, I am irresistible! On aircraft where my jumpseat is behind the passengers, people will completely turn around in their seats and stare at me, as if I am an animal at the zoo. I do try to ignore their stares, as I get myself settled on my Skytress jumpseat. However, most times I will smile back at them. I know they are curious. Especially, the children. A smile and a wave usually gets children out of their staring trance. They usually smile back and wave, too. When children stare back at me, I sometimes wonder if I am looking at a future Skytress or Skyter. I’ve heard too many stories from my fellow crew members to think otherwise. A fair number of them dreamed about becoming Skytresses or Skyters after watching the crew on their flights. On the other hand, occasionally when I’m being stared at, I can’t help myself….I stare right back at the passengers. It doesn’t matter if they are adults or children. I make it as awkward for them, as it is for me. It’s my own personal Skytress entertainment ….whoever stops staring first, wins. I’m proud to report, I’m very victorious with my Skytress jumpseat game!

When I sit on my jumpseat I have multiple things going through my head. After thirty years, I still sit down and repeat my evacuation commands over and over in my head. I also go through a mental review of what I need to do in an emergency. There is always a slight fear I will forget them if I don’t. Especially, if I haven’t been on a particular aircraft in awhile. Fortunately, I’ve never had to scream and shout these commands on a flight. I plan to retire with this lucky streak still intact.

I always say the same little prayer before take off and landing, as I sit strapped in on my jumpseat. Some people may think this is superstitious of me. But, I don’t think saying the prayer is superstitious. My prayer gives me peace. I’ve seen Skytresses and Skyters bless themselves after saying a prayer before take off and landing. It always makes me smile. I make the sign of the cross after my prayers, too. However, I make it in an inconspicuous way. Years ago, I started doing this particular sign of the cross. It gives me comfort….because I do it repeatedly as we take off and land. No one knows about this sign of the cross, but me and God. I like it this way. I feel like it is our special secret. I have another ritual on landing. I don’t know if other Skytresses or Skyters say a prayer for everyone on the plane. But, I do. I say my prayer as we taxi in. Many times I say a special prayer for a passenger or passengers that I have had a more in-depth conversation with on the plane. Passengers tell us many personal things. The good things, as well as, the difficult things. Sometimes words aren’t even necessary. Tears speak volumes.

I do some of my best thinking on my Skytress jumpseat. I am constantly pulling out my paper rotation and jotting down notes. I am forever writing down things I need to do in the lounge, on my layovers and at home. I’ve been known to write the same things down on multiple rotations. There are days I simply run out of time to complete my “to- do” list. Once in a while, I lose my paper rotations with my carefully thought out list. It used to upset me. I would look everywhere on the plane for my piece of paper. I’ve been known to flip my Skytress jumpseat open a hundred times…convinced my paper fell out of my pocket into the cracks of the jumpseat. Sometimes I’d find my paper in my Skytress jumpseat. Mostly when I opened the jumpseat, I’d only find old Biscoff cookie wrappers. These days when I lose my paper I just say, “Oh well”, and I laugh. I usually tell my crew, whoever finds the paper, is now required to do the things I have written down. It makes me happier to think this way. More importantly, it’s less stressful for me. I, also, used to write down positive sayings at the top of my rotations. I would read them every day as I sat on my jumpseat. These days I just THINK positive things as I sit on my jumpseat. Again, its less stressful. I always make a note on my paper rotations to remind me to list for my future jumpseats to go to work and to get home. Yes, I fly for free. Unfortunately, if there isn’t an open passenger seat, I won’t get on the flight. If I have listed for the extra jumpseat, I am almost guaranteed to be on my desired flight to work and back home. I have a designated time I can start listing for my jumpseat. My commuter friends can list for the same jumpseat at the same time, too. It’s a first come, first serve program. I make a note on my rotations so I can list for the jumpseat on time. Ironically, I usually forget to look at this important notation. Well,…I eventually look at the notation. Typically, I look at it 3 hours after I needed to list for my jumpseat! Fortunately, many of my fellow St. Louis commuters friends remember to list for the jumpseat 3 hours and 1 minute after me.

Ron and I loved to talk about sitting on the MD-88 and MD-90 jumpseats that faced the engines. It was common for these engines to spark and glow. We thought it was cool. Every once in a while, the passengers would see the sparks from the engines and their eyes would light up. They didn’t expect to see the powerful engines do that. It always made us laugh. Our MD-88 and MD-90 airplanes were retired this summer. I will miss them. These days, one of my favorite airplanes is the Airbus 321. I love sitting on the jumpseat at the 2 door. Passengers usually have their in-flight monitors on…either watching a movie or regular TV. I sit on my Skytress jumpseat and spy on what they are watching. Usually someone has something interesting on. I remember one day the Captain had us sit on our jumpseats for an extended amount of time. We had to fly around some bad weather. Only one person in front of me was watching a movie. It was a subtitled-foreign movie. I should say, an extremely boring…no plot whatsoever,…subtitled- foreign movie. It was all I could do to not tap the passenger on the shoulder and ask her to turn her dreadful movie off. I was so relieved when the Captain turned the seatbelt sign off and I had to go back to work.

I have many conversations with Ron and my Dad in my heart and in my head when I sit on my jumpseat. I always feel closer to them when I am in the sky. I usually ask them how things are going in Heaven. I always tell them I miss them. When Ron died, my Aunt Cathy said my Dad would be sitting on one airplane wing and Ron would be on the other wing. She said between the two of them they would keep me balanced and safe. I think of this many times when I am looking out my jumpseat window. Many days I’ll sit on my Skytress jumpseat and wonder if Ron and my Dad are sitting on my airplane’s wings. Other times, I wonder if they have opted to hang out on the beautiful clouds I see passing by from my jumpseat window. Either way, these thoughts make me smile.

Last year, on Ron and my anniversary, I was sitting alone on my Skytress jumpseat. I said to Ron it would be nice to get a sign from him on our anniversary. I told him I would love to get a penny from Heaven. I also mentioned I would love to get back to Atlanta early enough to make my earlier flight home. Unfortunately, on our last flight into Atlanta, we were coming in on time, and not extra-early like I had hoped. I resigned to the fact that I would be taking my later flight home to St. Louis. On our final descent, I told my crew I wouldn’t make my earlier flight home. When we got to the gate in Atlanta, I sauntered up to the boarding door after all the passengers had deplaned. To my delight, as I turned to get off the plane, there was a shiny penny sitting in the jetway inches from the airplane door. Boy, did it make me smile. I picked it up and told my Skytress friend Julie I got my penny from Ron in Heaven. She smiled, too. Julie knew Ron. Julie and I walked up the jetway together. She told me she was going to take the employee Shuttle on the B concourse to the employee parking lot. The stairs to the Shuttle were at B-18. This was the gate my earlier flight to St. Louis was going out of. As we walked up to B-18, I could see the agents were still working the earlier St. Louis flight. I asked them if I could still get on. They said yes and printed my boarding card. Julie and I looked at each other and laughed. I couldn’t believe I made my earlier flight home. My, my,….another anniversary gift from Ron! When I got home I went to the Farmer’s Market with my niece Jamie. Ron knew I loved going to the Farmer’s Market. We had a joke that I was going to the Farmer’s Market to….buy a farmer! It was a beautiful day at the Market. While we were there I found another penny from Ron in Heaven. Boy, did I feel Ron’s love on our special day. This week I sat on my Skytress jumpseat and I wondered what Ron was going to do for our anniversary this year. Whatever he sends my way will be filled with love and happiness. This I know for sure. I know I will think and marvel about it all day on Tuesday as I sit on my Skytress jumpseat. I’m sure I’ll have a passenger staring blatantly at me while I reminisce. They can stare at me all they want. My Skytress jumpseat game will be officially on. The last one to stare will once again be the winner. I’m confident I’ll be victorious once again as I sit on my jumpseat. After all, it is one of my favorite Skytress games!

I was preparing to work a flight to Tampa one afternoon. I was placing water bottles at the passenger’s seats in first class before we boarded the plane. The Captain walked into first class from the 2-left boarding door. He wanted to know if he could ask a favor of me. He told me retired Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, was going to be on our flight. He asked me if I would invite Mrs. O’Connor to the cockpit when she arrived. He explained the first officer’s wife, Eileen Collins, was the first female commander of the Space Shuttle. The first office told the Captain he would love to get a picture with Mrs. O’Connor,….the first female Supreme Court Justice….but, he didn’t want to disturb her. My thoughts went in several directions when the Captain asked this request. I knew I had flown with the first officer before. It dawned on me, when we flew previously, we had talked about his wife….because his wife and I have the same first name. At the time, it also came up in conversation, in a very nonchalant way, that his wife was the first female commander of the Space Shuttle. I was completely amazed by his reverence when he spoke about his wife. He was extremely proud of his wife and her accomplishments. I had a thousand questions I wanted to ask him about his wife. I told him I had great admiration for her achievements in her career. I, also, expressed how exhilarating it must have been to fly in space. However, I figured he always talks about his wife when people find out who she is. I didn’t want to do that. Instead, I turned the conversation back to him. He was such a wonderful, laid back guy. He had a great sense of humor. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with him. When the Captain said first officer Pat didn’t want to bother Mrs. O’Connor, I completely understood. The other thought going through my mind was how excited I was to have Sandra Day O’Connor on our flight. You may remember from a previous post how I once wanted to be a Supreme Court Justice. I also thought about Mrs. O’Connor’s husband. Prior to his death, he had Alzheimer’s disease. While he was in the later stages of his disease, he befriended a woman at his facility. He and the woman, who also had Alzheimer’s, would hold hands. A reporter asked Mrs. O’Connor if the hand holding bothered her. Mrs. O’Connor said she was glad to see her husband showing affection again. The disease had once stole this from him. She knew, because of the disease, he didn’t understand what he was doing. She knew her husband would never do anything to hurt her. Her response amazed me. My respect for Mrs. O’Connor grew exponentially with her judicious understanding.

Mrs. O’Connor came on board and settled in her seat. I quietly addressed her. I explained the Captain would like for her to visit the cockpit ……if she didn’t mind. She didn’t. She sweetly followed me to the cockpit. I introduced her to the Captain and left. I admit, I stood within ear shot of their conversation. I thought how lovely it would be to sit down with Mrs. O’Connor and talk about her life. I knew it would be positively fascinating. The Captain introduced Mrs. O’Connor to first officer Pat. The Captain explained Pat’s wife was the first female commander of the Space Shuttle. Mrs. O’Connor’s voice lit up. They talked about his wife. She then inquired about the pilots and their flying. Finally, the Captain asked Mrs. O’Connor if she would mind taking a picture. She said she would love too. I smiled as I stood outside the cockpit. I knew the first-class passengers recognized Mrs. O’Connor as she came back to her seat. They were extremely considerate. They didn’t disturb her once during the flight. When we arrived in Tampa and we started to deplane, a gentleman asked Mrs. O’Connor how she was enjoying her retirement. She sweetly told him she was as busy as ever. She smiled and said she didn’t feel one bit retired. I was completely captivated by Mrs. O’Connor. Later when I was thinking about the flight, I kicked myself. I wish I had asked Mrs. O’Connor if I could get a picture with her. I know she would have graciously agreed. Oh well. You know me and pictures. At least I have a beautiful memory to cherish forever.

Eileen Collins is an exceptional pilot, as far as I am concerned. I would still believe this even if her name wasn’t Eileen. But, it does make me smile a wee bit more knowing she is an “Eileen”, too. I love seeing female pilots at our airline. I always think “Girl Power” when I see a female pilot in the cockpit. I am proud to say I fly with more female pilots every year. Most of our female pilots are first officers. I know it is just a matter of time before they become Captains and move to the left seat. I am elated when I fly with female Captains. I admire everything they have gone through to earn their Captain’s wings. They have my utmost respect for being a pilot in a predominantly male profession. I learned throughout my career, female pilots have an incredible cool factor to them. First they have the incredible knowledge and finesse to fly a commercial aircraft…..many soft touch downs come at the hands of female pilots. Secondly, I’ve learned, female pilots possess an impeccable sense of humor. It’s not gritty guy pilot humor I’ve become accustomed to hearing, either. After months of blog posts, you all undoubtedly know I love my airline. I’m blessed to work with extraordinary fellow employees. I may be biased, but, I believe we have the best crew’s in the industry. I’m extremely proud when we stand together as a crew. However, on the several occasions when I have flown with an all- female crew, I know I stood a little taller. I smiled a little bigger. I saw the shocked looks on the passengers faces as we walked down the concourse and got in and out of the hotel shuttles. I always wanted to say, “Yes. You are seeing correctly. We are an all-female crew.” I look forward to flying many more all-female crew trips in the near future. It will be girl power at it’s finest.

There is the saying that one person can change the world. Alice Ramsey exemplifies this statement. Alice retired this August from being a Skytress at our airline. However, like Sandra Day O’Connor, I know Alice will be as busy in retirement, as she ever was flying. Alice Ramsey is a breast cancer survivor. In 2007 she asked our CEO if she could get a pink uniform dress made to help raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Our CEO agreed. Alice raised $3000. The next year 275 pink dresses were made available for Skytresses to wear in October. They sold out immediately. Eventually, more Skytress had the opportunity to purchase the pink dress. Skyters could purchase a pink tie to wear with their uniforms. October has become very pink at our airline. Several years ago, I started to notice other airlines wearing pink uniform pieces, as well. It made me smile. I think they were inspired by our airline. Unquestionably, we were all inspired by Alice. As I mentioned, Alice raised $3000 her first year wearing her pink dress. Since our airline started to raise money for the Foundation, it has raised over 16.8 million dollars. I know Alice’s pink dress helped propel the numbers exponentially upwards. I heard so many lovely stories about Alice from fellow Skytresses and Skyters. I hoped one day to have the pleasure of meeting her. Well, dream a little dream, I did. One day I went to my annual FAA training in Atlanta. As I sat at my table, I wondered if I would know anyone in my class. Low and behold I noticed Alice Ramsey was in my class. It was as if Elvis had entered the building. I watched Alice interact with everyone. She was vivacious and extremely kind. Her laughter was infectious. I remember Alice asked a friend in our class if she would like to come to a luncheon with her and her mother. Alice was to receive an award from the Governor and she didn’t want her Mom to sit alone. Alice’s friend teased her about having lunch with the Governor. “Only Alice”, she said. We all laughed. Including Alice. But, we knew Alice deserved to have lunch with the Governor. More importantly, we all knew it was actually going to be his honor to have lunch with her. Alice is not only a survivor,….she is the biggest cheerleader for everyone she encounters. I later told Alice how I admired everything she has done at our airline. She is a warrior for those fighting cancer and those who are survivors. Alice could not have been more gracious. She told me her story. She also gave me a packet that contained a rubber piece of material and a little nodule. Alice gives this out so people will know what she felt when she discovered her breast cancer. I could tell this is Alice’s mission in life….To make sure everyone has the gift of early detection. Alice is determined to beat cancer on multiple fronts. The next day in training Alice came in with a gift for everyone. She said she knew everyone was feeling stressed with the rigors of annual training. She wanted to bring everyone some luck. I was touched by her thoughtfulness. I also learned that day, Alice has an annual breast cancer fund raiser at her house. The money raised helps pay bills for those going through treatment. She has multiple giveaways at her fund raiser, too. People donate items because they love Alice and her cause. Alice, I learned, is the ultimate caretaker. This is why I know Alice is busy as ever in her retirement from our airline. I never had the pleasure of flying with Alice. I can only imagine she took great care of our passengers and her crew. I am so grateful I did meet Alice. I learned a lot from Alice in our short two days. Ultimately I learned Alice is girl power personified.