Last week I had a 30- hour layover in Kansas City. Our trip first started with us flying from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Then after a sit we flew from Los Angeles to Kansas City. Our flight landed in Kansas at midnight. We only had a smattering of passengers going with us to Kansas City. I’ll admit. It was delightful! Everyone had optimal elbow room. I remember years ago we used to have flights from Dallas to Kansas City. These flights were always full. One day a Skytress I was flying with wondered out loud why so many people traveled from Dallas to Kansas City. Without missing a beat a first-class passenger said, “For the cheap women and good barbecue”. It’s still one of my favorite responses to a question. The upbeat song lyric, “I’m going to Kansas City. Kansas City here I come”, takes on a whole new connotation after hearing this response.

One of my favorite Skytress stories to tell, also, happened on our way to Kansas City. It actually happened on our final approach. Our Skytress In-Charge started to make her final approach PA. I was handing the gentleman in 3C his coat when I heard over the PA, “We are making our final approach into Kansas Sh*ty”. I giggled as I looked at the gentleman and asked him, “Did she just say what I think she said?” He said, “Yes”. Followed by, “Some days it really is!” His response tickled me. I cannot even tell you the number of times I jokingly say I am going to “Kansas Sh*ty”. I say it so often I fear I will actually say it over the PA just like my Skytress In-Charge did. However, I know if I do say it, I will immediately follow it up with, “Sorry folks. However, the gentleman in 3C told me years ago…Some days it really is!”

This trip our layover hotel was located in the Downtown District. It’s a nice area. But, it isn’t Country Club Plaza. Ah, Country Club Plaza! I’ve loved Country Club Plaza since I was a student at the University of Kansas. However, when I went to the University of Kansas I was a poor college student. So mostly we drove to Country Club Plaza to see the Christmas lights. When I became a Skytress I had a salary. So I went shopping at Country Club Plaza. After all, shopping is one of the most coveted Skytress pastimes. Amazingly, I actually spent most of my Skytress money up the hill from Country Club Plaza. Yessiree. If it weren’t for a fellow Skytress on one of my trips, I would never have known there was a hidden gem up the hill from Country Club Plaza. Thankfully, this Skytress had an obsession with Trapp Candles. I clearly remember we were in the crew van on our way to the hotel when the Skytress asked us if we saw the sign on the building that said “Trapp and Company”. Of course, the three of us were too busy talking to have noticed any signs. Yessiree. Talking is another favorite pastime of Skytresses. The Skytress educated us on Trapp Candles the rest of the way to the hotel. We were intrigued. So intrigued, that we all agreed to walk up to the hill with her before we headed to Country Club Plaza to shop.

Now there have been numerous times in my Skytress career when I have won the shopping lottery. This day was definitely one of them. This shop was a Skytress paradise. It was a florist shop. It was a gift shop. It was a wine shop. It was a candle shop. It was a design center. All under one roof. It was Skytress Heaven. Every item sang to my Skytress heart. Best of all, the owner insisted we taste a plethora of gourmet items he sold in his shop. I kid you not. We spent an hour and a half in Trapp and Company. I left with bags filled with food items, gifts and of course, Trapp Candles. I had never heard of Trapp Candles before this day. But, by golly, by the time I left the shop I was a Trapp Candle convert. All of bought so many things at Trapp and Company we had to stop at the hotel and drop our things off before we finally headed to Country Club Plaza. Where, of course, we continued to spend more of our Skytress money.

Sadly, there is a lack of Skytress paradise shops around our layover hotel in the Downtown District. But, fear not. There is an upscale market a few blocks from the hotel. So, this layover I headed down to Consentino’s Market where I proceeded to spend my Skytress money on a healthy salad. What!? No barbecue!? Everyone knows Kansas Sh*ty is known for their cheap women and good barbecue!!! I know. A healthy salad sounds pretty boring for a 30-hour Kansas Sh*ty layover. And it is. But, if you heard my motivational pep talk I gave myself just to get dressed and walk outside into the bitter cold you would have been impressed. Heck, I was extremely impressed! So, I headed out into the bitter cold to get the best darn healthy salad I could find.

My game plan was to walk quickly to Consentino’s Market and walk back even quicker to the hotel. I’ll admit. I couldn’t walk fast enough to the market. The wind whipped around the buildings so badly I questioned my sanity for ever leaving the hotel…..for a salad. Yes. My salad paled in comparison to the tantalizing items for sale in the prepared food section. But, I was sticking to my healthy food plan. I did circle the dessert area several times as I clung to my salad box. When I finally checked out the sales clerk entertained me with an impromptu comedy routine. It was so bad it was actually funny. I’m sure I’ll see him some day on Netflix when he has his own comedy special. I’ll know it’s him if he does food market jokes. Well, well. A salad and a comedy show. Could I have ask for anything more on a layover? Yes. Yes, I could have.

I’m not going to lie. If we were still laying over at Country Club Plaza I would have been outside in the bitter cold happily shopping all day at all the Skytress paradise shops. Heck. Nothing warms a Skytress’ heart like power shopping. Yessiree. Other people can have the cheap women and good barbecue while in Kansas Sh*ty. For me, it’s all about Country Club Plaza. My apologies to Consentino’s Market. You are a lovely market. However, you are just one market. Country Club Plaza has fifteen blocks of shops and restaurants. Plus, there is Trapp and Company up the hill. I’m sure they miss me as much as I miss them. Yessiree. I pray we eventually go back to this area of the city. When we do, you can bet I’ll wholeheartedly bid these trips. All the while, I’ll be singing….”I’m going to Kansas City. Kansas City here I come.”

Happy New Year my sweet friends. I am finishing up my first trip of 2022. Actually, I’m currently on the airplane in LaGuardia deadheading back to Atlanta. However, I should be working a flight from Indianapolis to Atlanta instead. What happened you ask? Well, the Rerouted Skytress….got rerouted. (Insert drum rimshot here. Badum-Ching). Don’t feel too bad for me, though. I am sitting in a first class seat as I type away on my iPad. Even better, I don’t have anyone in the seat next to me. Still, I would have preferred to have flown my trip as it was planned. I would have landed back home in St. Louis at 2pm. Now I will land in St. Louis at 1940….that would be 7:40 pm for those of you that don’t adhere to military time. I’m actually shocked it took this long into my trip to get rerouted. The winter weather and the Omicron Covid variant have wreaked havoc on our airline crew staffing. I’m anticipating the rest of my trips this month will include a reroute or two or five. Yes, I’ll be airborne. I’m just not sure what city I’ll be heading to. If you are lucky, I may just be heading to your city.

Speaking of…or rather, writing of luck. I was extremely lucky when I flew to Atlanta to start my trip. For those of you that follow me on Facebook and Instagram, you already know about Ron sending me pennies from Heaven. Let me explain for those of you that don’t follow me on social media. I had been on vacation for almost a month. I’ll admit. I still wasn’t quite ready to go back flying. As I stood in the bitter cold waiting for the employee shuttle to come, I talked to Ron in Heaven. This wasn’t unusual. I talk to Ron and my Dad in Heaven all the time. I jokingly told Ron a penny from Heaven would make going back to work more palatable. As the employee shuttle approached, I told both Ron and my Dad to have a heavenly day in Heaven. This always makes me smile when I tell them this. I passed the USO Military lounge on my way to my gate. I said a a prayer of thanks for the soldier’s like I normally do. Then I turned the corner to head towards the Known Crew Member security line. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spied a shiny penny on the floor as I was making the turn. Two passengers saw me pick up my penny from Heaven and they smiled. I put my penny from Heaven in my left coat pocket. It happily joined the penny that was already in my left coat pocket. This penny is a penny from my Dad in Heaven. It’s been in the finger of my winter glove for years now. The day I found the penny I placed it inside my left coat pocket. The penny slid into the finger of my glove when I placed it inside my pocket. I haven’t taken the penny out of the glove since that day. I like to put my hand in my pocket and feel the penny nestled inside the finger of the glove. There is no doubt about it. It brings me great comfort when I touch the penny. I fiddled with both pennies in my pocket as I walked up to the TSA agent. The combined power of the two pennies was evident. I made it through the KCM security line without becoming “ the selectee”. You see. The TSA agent’s computer randomly picks the selectee. Sadly, the selectee has to go back and go through the regular passenger security line. Not being the selectee is huge in our world of aviation. Of course, I thanked both Ron and my Dad for their powerful pennies after I safely passed through KCM and headed to my gate.

Later in the day I was walking through the concourse with my fellow Skytress. I was happily thinking about Ron’s penny from Heaven as I rubbed it in my pocket. I joked to Ron that it would be amazing to get another penny from him. After all, three pennies in my pocket would be perfect. I kid you not. I walked five feet down the concourse and low and behold there was another penny on the floor. I picked it up and told my fellow Skytress that this was the second penny I found that day. She commented that someone was busy sending me pennies from Heaven. Yes indeed. Ron was obviously having fun showering me with pennies from Heaven on my first trip of 2022. Lucky me!

The next day my crew and I had a three hour sit in Detroit. We decided we would go to the crew lounge for a wee bit. Heck, we had to walk by the lounge anyway. It couldn’t have been more convenient for us. Shockingly, I found another penny after we exited the crew elevator. The lone penny was sitting on the ground next to a deserted cart in the hallway. Wow! I texted my friend Kristin later in the day about my three pennies. We marveled at the coincidence of me finding them. We agreed the pennies definitely came from Heaven. I couldn’t tell you the last time I used change. Heck, I rarely see anyone use change these days. Sure, these pennies could have fallen out of someone’s pocket. However, I am convinced that they didn’t. No siree bob. These lucky pennies definitely came from Heaven. Better yet. From the moment I found them, the pennies worked their powerful magic. Case in point. No one on my crew had to get off the trip because of the omicron variant. Egads. Believe me. The stories are rampant of crew members having to get off their trips and quarantine in hotels. Shall we talk about reroutes? Let’s. It seems if you wear a crew uniform you’re going to be rerouted. For two days those lucky pennies from Heaven worked their incredible non-reroute magic.

I thought the luck of my pennies was waining on day two of my trip. I was in my hotel room in Tampa checking in for my flight home to St. Louis. I had just looked at my seat assignment for my flight. It was a window seat. My favorite. Then my phone rang. I didn’t want to answer it. No siree bob. I knew we were being rerouted. My airline doesn’t call in the evening just to wish me a good night’s sleep. I listened to the message. The computer voice said we would be flying to Atlanta an hour later than scheduled. It didn’t say anything more after that. Not one word. Usually the computer states the flight times and destinations for the rest of the trip. The recording always ends by telling us to check our full rotation on-line. I heard none of this. Apparently the computer didn’t want to give me the ugly details that we would be flying to LaGuardia and deadheading back to Atlanta. But, I saw it when I got on-line. Yessiree. Even though the computer didn’t remind me to check my rotation on-line, I did it anyway. I did find some solace in the fact that the passenger loads were light flying into and out of New York. Ahhh. My heavenly pennies still had luck inside them.

This morning at pickup I learned that two of my fellow Skytresses had been rerouted one more time. They were going to fly to Detroit after we arrived in LaGuardia. Then they were going to deadhead to Atlanta. I thanked my lucky pennies I wasn’t going to Detroit, too.

There was a direct flight from LaGuardia to St. Louis that would have gotten me home hours early than 1940…uh, 7:40 pm for your civilians. There was also a direct flight from LaGuardia to Houston for my fellow Skytress that wasn’t rerouted to Detroit with the other two Skytresses. Sadly, neither one of us could deviate from our deadhead. Crew scheduling wasn’t authorizing it because we are so short on Skytresses and Skyters. I briefly thought about deviating without permission from crew scheduling. I was pretty confident I wasn’t going to be rerouted again. But, I am not only a rules follower,….I’m a scaredy-cat. Well, at least when my job could be on the line, that is. So here I sit on my deadhead flight back to Atlanta.

I had originally planned to start taking Christmas down when I got home this afternoon. However, I knew I needed to work on this blog post, too. I hadn’t even typed one word until a few minutes ago. Egads. I’ve usually written most of my blog before now. So, I guess my lucky pennies are still working their magic. I have enjoyed my peace and quiet writing while on my deadhead flight. Heck. I even have time to fit in a well-deserved nap. Yessiree. All naps are well-deserved. I do have to hang out a few hours in the crew lounge before I head up for my flight home to St. Louis. I’ll eat the last of my fruit and veggies while I wait. I’ll catch up on my YouTube watching, too. You know I have a few new sites I’m addicted to. On the plus side, I don’t have to make dinner tonight. And my family gets one more day to enjoy the Christmas decorations.

When I get home I will place Ron’s pennies from Heaven in my penny jar. I’ll keep my Dad’s penny in my glove in my coat. After all, it’s found a comfy home sweet home there in the finger of my glove. More importantly, it’s found a home sweet home in my heart knowing it’s a Heavenly penny from my Dad. Next Tuesday I will ask Ron for more pennies from Heaven. I anticipate the next few weeks being hard on us flight crews. Pennies from Heaven will be greatly appreciated. I won’t worry if I don’t receive any though. I always tell people that Ron works in reroute Heaven. He has been diligently working in the reroute Heaven department since my first trip back flying without him. My Skytress friend Kristin can attest to this. She and I couldn’t believe our heavenly fortune on this reroute. Only an angel familiar with aviation could have pulled off this miraculous reroute. Yessiree. Ron is a dedicated angel. He has gotten this Rerouted Skytress some pretty sweet reroutes. I know he will continue to take special care of his favorite Rerouted Skytress. Oh, yes. I can bet my Heavenly pennies on this!