If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know I pray a lot while I’m on the airplane. Yessiree. I pray before we take off. I pray before we land. I’m constantly praying for our passengers. I ask God to keep them safe as they travel to their final destinations. I’ll admit. There are flights I pray to God to convince some of our passengers to choose another airline to fly. I, also, pray I have a good crew. Graciously, God answers this prayer 99% of the time. Every trip I pray I make my flight home. Thankfully, God answers this prayer 99% of the time, too. The past few weeks, however, I have spent most of my flying prayer time, praying for the people of Ukraine. Actually, I spend most of my day praying for the people of Ukraine. These prayers are followed by prayers for all the beautiful people around the world helping the Ukrainians. For days now, the song, “Let There Be Peace on Earth” has been replaying on a constant loop in my head. Peace. Yes, Peace. Oh, how I pray for peace for the Ukrainians. “The Peace that was meant to be”.

I watched the closing ceremonies of the Olympics with a unsettling feeling. I couldn’t forget the image of the Ukraine skeleton athlete, Vladyslav Heraskevych, holding a sign with his country’s colors that said, “No War in Ukraine”. It was heart wrenching. I wanted to cry as International Olympic Committee President, Thomas Bach, spoke, “ This unifying power of the Olympic Games is stronger than the forces that want to divide us: you give peace a chance. May the political leaders around the world be inspired by your example of solidarity and peace.” Sadly, I knew Vladimir Putin wasn’t listening. Yet, I prayed, “Let There Be Peace on Earth”.

As Ash Wednesday approached, Pope Francis called on Catholics around the world to pray The Hail Mary to the Blessed Mother for peace. I am Catholic. We refer to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the “Queen of Peace”. I took Pope Francis’ words to heart. As the song goes,….I knew peace had to begin with me. More specifically, I knew peace had to begin with me praying The Hail Mary. I’ll admit. The Hail Mary isn’t an easy prayer for me. It should be. It’s a short prayer. But, by golly, for a short prayer, I can really mess it up. I used to keep a copy of the prayer in my flight bag because it frustrated me so much. Yessiree. I had too many occasions when the prayer would pop into my head while I sat on my Skytress jumpseat. I’ll admit. I would get stuck praying The Hail Mary after the first three lines. Oh, I could easily remember the ending of the prayer. It was the middle that was fuzzy. The more I tried to get the prayer right, the more flustered I’d get. So one day I looked up the prayer and wrote it on a piece of paper. I put the paper inside my flight calendar with other prayer cards I had stashed inside. Yessiree. I’m a good Irish Catholic Skytress…..Who happens to have difficulty remembering The Hail Mary. This past Ash Wednesday I was flying. When I got to the airport I Googled The Hail Mary. I took a screenshot of the prayer. I prayed it repeatedly. I’ll admit. I repeatedly prayed it mostly to memorize the prayer. I knew I wasn’t really praying with intention. Later that day I took another screenshot of the prayer on my company Skytress phone. When I, The Rerouted Skytress, got rerouted, I repeatedly prayed The Hail Mary on my two deadhead flights. However, this time when I prayed, I prayed with intention as I thought about the people of Ukraine. Yes. I prayed to the “Queen of Peace” for peace in Ukraine. All the while hearing the song lines, “With God as our Father, brothers all are we. Let me walk with my brother, in perfect harmony”.

My crew and I got to our hotel in Fort Myers just before midnight. I didn’t want to disturb the hotel guests in the adjoining hotel rooms. Thus, I didn’t turn on my television to catch up on the war news. Instead, I decided I’d do a quick check of my Facebook and Instagram accounts before I headed to bed. I scrolled by multiple images and stories of support for the people of Ukraine. I cried tears of sadness, love and anger. War is awful, awful, awful. I was exhausted from a long day of being a Skytress. I knew I needed to go to sleep. I told myself to put my phone down. But, then I saw a picture of Maksim Chmerkovskiy from “Dancing With The Stars” and something told me to click on his Instagram story. I did…..I was riveted for the next few hours.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy was reporting from Poland. He had just escaped Ukraine by train. He felt guilty because he was leaving his homeland. He, also, felt guilty because he is a big man. He was completely aware of the fact he had taken up valuable space on the train. Space that could have been used for another woman and child to evacuate Ukraine. He revealed how he stood between train cars for 17 hours so he wouldn’t take up valuable space inside. Yes. It took him 17 hours to reach Poland by train. His story was compelling. He explained numerous things about Ukraine and it’s people. He spoke about the horrors of war. He said he couldn’t go into details. He was trying to keep himself focused. He admitted he would need extensive therapy to deal with the atrocities he had witnessed. I couldn’t fathom what he had experienced. I couldn’t fathom what the people of Ukraine were experiencing. I just knew my heart broke for them. I watched Maksim’s other posts. They were captivating. I decided to follow Maksim on Instagram. I yearned to understand more about the insurrection and how it was affecting the people of Ukraine. Maksim promised he would show the reality of war that regular television couldn’t show. I went to bed anticipating a new post from Maksim when I woke up. I’ll admit, though. I was ill-prepared for what I saw the next day.

Early the next morning I decided to go sit outside on my hotel balcony. I relished the warm temperature. I was mesmerized by the sun glistening on the water. It was utterly peaceful watching the boats cruising just beyond the harbor. I almost forgot I was at work. I took my cell phone and iPad outside. I thought writing in such a beautiful setting would be a treat. Before I opened my iPad to write, I decided to check my Instagram. I clicked on Maksim’s post. I was stunned. I was watching videos of war unlike anything I had ever seen. Maksim was sharing videos from his friends in Ukraine. I couldn’t understand what was being said. Sadly, war doesn’t need a language. Maksim said he is not a soldier. He promised instead to use his cell phone as a weapon against the Russians. His weapon on choice was irrefutable. His Instagram posts pierced my heart. I cried. I was blatantly aware of how privileged I was at that moment. I was safe at a beautiful hotel watching boats on the water. Meanwhile the people of Ukraine were trying to stay alive. Oh how, I prayed for the people of Ukraine. Oh how I prayed for peace.

Unbelievably, we are now several weeks into the war. In this time, I’ve watched and read more about the ugliness of war than I care to know. Conversely, I’ve watched and read amazing stories of people from around the world coming together to support the people of Ukraine. The outpouring of humanitarian aide has left me speechless. I chose several organizations to assist financially. Oh, how I wish I could help every single person and organization I’ve learned about these past few weeks. Every gesture is a vow of support for the Ukrainians and their fight for freedom and peace. I’m proud to see sun flowers and the yellow and blue colors of Ukraine displayed in solidarity everywhere I look. My heart has swelled as I see cities around the world light up their buildings in yellow and blue. It’s a simple, yet impactful gesture. When I flew home to St. Louis our airport was lit up in yellow and blue. I’m not sure how many passengers saw the lights. But, I did.

War is ugly. I pray this war is over soon. I pray the people of Ukraine will be able to go back to their homes and rebuild what Vladimir Putin has so selfishly destroyed. Sadly, too many families have been destroyed and will never be made whole again. My heart aches for them. Yes. For weeks I’ve had the song, “ Let There Be Peace on Earth” playing on a constant loop in my head…. as if I am trying to will it to happen. I’m reminded as I write this, during Catholic Mass, we offer the sign of peace to each other. We turn to each other and say, “Peace be with you”. These simple words reflect how we wish each other to live in this world. People with peaceful hearts. People living with peaceful spirits. People living in a peaceful world. Peace. Not war. Yes. “Let there be peace on Earth, the peace that was meant to be”. May peace return to the people of Ukraine. The peace that used to be.

It finally happened, my sweet friends. I got a new cell phone. Yessiree. I no longer have to carry my crew cell phone, along with my personal cell phone, just to take pictures on my layovers. Yep. My new cell phone has a functioning camera. Alleluia! I’ll admit. The anticipation of getting a new phone was extremely confusing for me. I had been looking forward to getting a new phone for weeks. As the days approached, I found myself becoming very melancholy. I had my old iPhone for years. I spent countless hours talking, texting, Googling, and taking pictures with it. My old iPhone captured many memories for me. Of course, many of those memories involve memories of Ron. Getting a new phone in the past was so simple. Heck. I looked forward to talking and texting with Ron on a new and improved cell phone. Sadly, I won’t be able to do this with my new phone. Ugh. I never knew how complicated my emotions would become as I pushed the “purchase now” button.

I remember when I was a little girl in Cincinnati, my friend, Liesl, told me her Mom, Kathleen, didn’t want to get a new answering machine. The old machine had a saved message from Liesl’s grandmother on it. Liesl’s grandmother had passed away months prior. Kathleen cherished hearing Grandma’s voice on the saved message. Yessiree. Kathleen could push the “saved message” button whenever she longed to hear Grandma’s voice. I didn’t quite comprehend it at the time. Sadly, I did after my Dad passed away. Unfortunately, I don’t have any saved messages on my phone or answering machine containing my Dad’s voice. I was naïve. I didn’t think the day would come so soon, when I, too, would long to hear my Dad’s voice. I did learned from this oversight, though. I saved my texts and voicemails from Ron. I even took the extra step and backed up Ron’s voicemails before I setup my new phone. Luckily, everything transferred over very nicely on to my new phone. Whenever I long to hear Ron’s voice, I open my phone and listen to his voicemails. Hearing his voice calms me. It makes me smile. It fills my heart. I thank God for this privilege. I, also, thank Alexander Graham Bell.

I know Alexander Graham Bell had no idea how far communication would evolve after he spoke those famous words, “Mr. Watson-Come here- I want to see you.” Heck. Mr. Watson was hearing Mr. Bell’s voice from a telephone in an adjoining room. I know he never fathomed someone using a phone 35,000 feet in the air to talk to someone down on Earth. I pretty much can guarantee he never conceived people would use phones to conduct their banking, take pictures, listen to music, purchase items, play games or save the sound of someone’s voice. Heck. I never fathomed it. And I watched the Jetsons as a child! These days new phone technologies happen so fast it boggles my mind. I’m sure my new iPhone will be out of date in a matter of months. Heck. It probably already is. Truth be told, I purchased my last iPhone in 2015. I’m not embarrassed by this fact at all. Hey, I learned from the best not to rush out and purchase the latest and greatest new cell phone. The “best” was Ron.

I used to tease Ron that the Smithsonian wanted his cell phone for a historical phone exhibition. This didn’t bother him one bit. He loved his flip phone. I would chuckle at his archaic emoji’s that were made from punctuations and symbols. I’m convinced if Alexander Graham Bell had given Ron the first telephone from 1876, Ron would have used it daily until 2018. I still remember the day Ron was forced to get a new cell phone. He sent me a text with a real honest to goodness emoji. I was gobsmacked when I saw the little yellow emoji smiling back at me. Of course,….I still have the text.

My airline company phone is, also, an iPhone. Its’s an iPhone 12. I knew when my airline phone was newer than my personal phone, an upgrade was necessary. Thankfully, I was forced to learn numerous new tricks on my company phone. So, the transition to my personal phone has been much easier. Unlike, my personal phone, I cannot make actual calls on my company phone. Say, what!? I know. I’m positive our airline knows we Skytresses and Skyters would be talking on them all the time. Especially while we are on the airplane working. And that folks, is a major no-no. I’ll admit. I’ve gone into the lavatories a time or two to make an urgent call. Yessiree. The smart people, better known as Skytresses and Skyters, know the lavatories are a makeshift phone booth. The brazen people, better known as passengers, just talk on their phones from the comfort of their passenger seats. I’m pretty sure Alexander Graham Bell, would have been one of the brazen people. One can be brazen when one invents the telephone, though.

I’ve been a Skytress long enough to remember when our company installed the first phone on the airplane for passengers to use. The phone hung on the wall and passengers had to swipe their credit card to use it. Mostly, though, it was a decoration on the wall that passengers stared at. Rarely, did anyone use it. When a passenger did use the phone we would talk about them in the galley. We all knew the passenger was using the phone to impress someone. We were rarely impressed. Now if the same passenger came on the plane with treats for the crew, we would have been overly impressed. You see, folks. This is how Skytresses and Skyters minds work. I’ll admit. There was a whole lot more galley gossip when our airline installed phones in the passenger seats. And galley gossip was usually combined with a lot of eye rolling on our part, too. None of us wanted to hear a conference call at 35,000 feet while we were trying to serve. I’ll go as far as to say, even the passengers didn’t want to hear the conversations of their seat mates. Alexander Graham Bell might have been the nicest person I ever met. But, if he picked up the phone from his first-class armrest to call Mr. Watson, we would have still rolled our eyes and gossiped about him in the galley. Now,….if Mr. Bell handed us candy before he made the phone call,…….

Alexander Graham Bell may have imagined every household having a telephone. But, did he ever imagine every passenger having a phone and using it on an airplane. Probably not, since the first commercial airline came into existence after he died. But, I digress. I never imagined every passenger having a phone and using it on the airplane. Nor, did I ever imagine I would have to become the phone police. Egads! At least if we had guns like the real police, we could shoot the phone talking offenders. Of course, we would only shoot the annoying phone talking offenders. Some conversations are actually pretty interesting. Yes, my sweet friends, Skytresses and Skyters listen to phone conversations. Yessiree. We have bionic cell phone hearing. Happily for us phone police, passengers can now use their phones during all phases of flight. As long as it’s in airplane mode, of course. These days most passengers are texting their friends and family during the flight. Thus, there are less rushed conversations occurring before we take off. Fortunately for us, there are still enough phone talking offenders to keep us on our toes. Nowadays, these offenders think we can’t tell they are talking on their phones because they are wearing face masks. Bet, they wouldn’t think this way if we had Skytress and Skyter cell phone enforcement police guns. I imagine even Alexander Graham Bell would resort to texting instead of talking if we were issued these guns.

I’ve been using my new iPhone for several weeks now. I’ll admit. I had to reset a few passwords in the process. Ugh. Passwords! I wonder if Alexander Graham Bell would have used different passwords for each app. I like to think he would eventually call Mr. Watson in exasperation inquiring about his multiple passwords. Ah, I can hear the phone conversation now. “Mr. Watson. Come here. I can’t remember my Instagram password”. I, also, like to think Alexander Graham Bell would have his original telephone packed away in his dresser drawer. That’s where all my old phones have ended up. I’ll admit. There is something comforting about having all my old phones close by. I’m sure in a few years my dresser drawer will overrun with old phones. I could blame Alexander Graham Bell for this hoarding problem. I won’t though. I’ll thank him instead. Heck, new phone technologies are coming about daily. I’m sure the day is fast approaching when we will be able to call people directly in Heaven. I’ll be sure to call Alexander Graham Bell first. I’ll thank him for inventing the telephone and creating our telephone addictions. On second thought, maybe I’ll call Mr. Watson first. After all, that is what Alexander Graham Bell did.