Growing up my family moved several times. Each time we moved my parents had one steadfast rule. They would find the best school district and buy a house in that district. When my Dad was offered another job promotion we moved from Pittsburgh to St. Louis. Before we moved my parents reached out to our friends, Rick and Penny Clatt. The Clatt’s were our neighbors in Cincinnati. They were now living in St. Louis. Actually, they lived in Chesterfield, a suburb of St. Louis. My parents flew to St. Louis on a house hunting trip. While on their trip they visited with Rick and Penny Clatt. My parents questioned the Clatt’s about the best school districts and best locations to live in St. Louis. Long story short, my parents bought a ranch-style house down the street from the Clatt’s. Prior to living in St. Louis, my family lived in two- story homes. So, my Dad promised my Mom they would buy a bigger two-story house after living in the ranch-style house for a year. However, there was one huge problem. My parents had bought the perfect house, in the perfect neighborhood, with the perfect neighbors. The subdivision is called Westbury Manor. It’s similar to Mayberry. Except it didn’t have Sheriff Andy Taylor, Deputy Barney Fife, Opie Taylor or Aunt Bee. We did have a filling station just outside the subdivision. Goober and Gomer Pyle didn’t own it. But, there was an attendant that we called Woodie Woodpecker. So, it’s almost the same. Yessiree. Westbury Manor was our version of Mayberry. It was the perfect place to grow up.

You may be asking yourself why I am writing about Westbury Manor and not about flying. Well, I am the Rerouted Skytress. So every once in awhile I have to reroute my blog posts. I did have a flying blog post I was going to write while I am out on vacation. However, on September 9th we lost a dear friend of the family, Donna Kelly. The days prior to Donna’s passing, I thought a lot about growing up in Westbury Manor. We had a beautiful community of friends that became family. Westbury Manor was not only a safe haven for me. The subdivision was a magical backdrop for creating cherished memories while growing up. You would think such a magical place filled with the most amazing friends would be easy to write about. No siree. I started writing this blog post the night Donna passed away. I’ve rewritten this post several times in my head and on my iPad. Something interesting I’ve learned about these past two years from blogging….it’s easy to write about flying. In contrast….It’s extremely difficult to write about the people and places that mean the most to me. This blog post I am going to share a few stories of growing up in Westbury Manor. I think since Donna was the catalyst for this blog post, I shall start with a story or two about her.

Donna Kelly was an extremely talented artist. I’d like to say my Mom commissioned Donna to paint several pieces for our home. However, I’m almost positive no money was ever actually exchanged between these two friends. Whenever I sit in our living room and write my blog posts I am surrounded by Donna’s exquisite watercolors. Donna didn’t just paint watercolors. No siree. For years, she happily painted my brother Brian’s face for Halloween. I’m not sure if Picasso or Michelangelo would have painted a clown or Dracula face on a giggly little boy, but, Donna did. For my family, having Donna come paint Brian’s Halloween face was much sweeter than a pillowcase full of Halloween candy. I’m not sure how my Mom ever sweet talked Donna into hanging wallpaper in our house while my Dad was gone on a business trip. But, she did. Several times! Actually, I’m sure Donna always offered to help. However, I’ll just leave you all with this. After hanging wallpaper in our dining room….wallpaper that my Dad saw in a nice restaurant and decided it was perfect for our dining room… well, Donna and my Mom never hung wallpaper ever again. Thankfully, Donna and my Mom laughed the whole time they hung the unforgiving wallpaper. Yessiree. They graciously chose to laugh about my Dad’s choice of wallpaper instead of killing my Dad because of it!

I know I have written in previous blog posts about the unsanctioned Westbury Manor Association and their extraordinary love for 40th birthday party celebrations. For those of you who missed the posts….first of all, shame on you. Second of all,…. this association was comprised of our close-knit neighbors who proclaimed themselves to be, “The Westbury Manor Association”. The Westbury Manor Association loved to celebrate everything. So they did just that. You may recall my blog post about my Mom’s 40th birthday celebration. The Association got my Mom a live chicken and a turkey for her birthday theme. Yessiree. She was no longer a spring chicken….She was now an old turkey. For our neighbor Sue Evers’ 40th birthday, the Association got her a pig. You guessed it! “Sue-EE” was this birthday theme. After Sue’s birthday party her kids gleefully put a leash on the pig and walked it around the neighborhood. I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you about Bob Isham’s birthday celebration. Bob Isham was affectionately known as the Captain. He was a Captain and Commander in the Coast Guard Reserve. Interestingly, when he was a young reservist, Bob was chosen to lead his formation in President John Kennedy’s funeral procession. The Association completely admired and respected this fact. Thus, they planned a procession to Bob’s house on his 40th birthday fit for a Commander in the Coast Guard. And what does a Coast Guard Commander need for his birthday theme? Well, a boat of course! Bob Isham had a boat. However, he didn’t have a boat anchored smack-dab in the middle of his front yard. So the Association placed one there for Bob’s 40th birthday. In addition, the Association cemented a highway construction barrier, complete with a blinking light, inside the boat. Yessiree. It was a beacon to all in Westbury Manor that Bob was turning 40!

Bob Isham worked for Monsanto. He was one of several members of the Association that worked for Monsanto. Leo Paradis worked for Monsanto, too. He and his family lived behind the Isham’s. You may recall my blog post about my flight crew going to the Paradis’ house on Christmas Eve to sing Christmas carols. Leo loved music. He also loved Jaguar cars. So he bought himself one. Everyone loved Leo’s Jaguar. Myself included. One day my Mom was talking on the phone to Leo’s wife Julia. My Mom told Julia she needed to call a plumber to fix a leaky drain. Julia told my Mom not to call a plumber. She would have Leo come over to fix the leaky sink drain. Leo wasted no time in coming over. In fact, he jumped in his Jaguar and drove up the street to our house. He rang the doorbell. When my Mom opened the front door Leo was holding a wrench he called, “big red” and declared, The plumber is here!” In a matter of minutes Leo had the plumbing issue fixed. From that day forward my Mom would tell everyone her plumber drove a Jaguar to make house calls.

Leo Paradis wasn’t the only neighbor that made house calls . No siree. Across the street from the Paradis lived the Weyerich’s. Dr. Weyerich was an internist. Thankfully, he was a phone call away for anyone needing medical advice or medical treatment. One day the Weyerich’s telephone rang. Megan Weyerich answered the phone. A man with a distinctly soft spoken voice asked to speak with her father. Megan asked her dad who the man was after Dr. Weyerich hung up the phone. Dr. Weyerich told Megan it was Michael Jackson. Dr. Weyerich had treated him when he was performing in St. Louis. Michael Jackson called to thank Dr. Weyerich for helping him. I thought this was the coolest thing when I was a kid. Heck, I still do!

I’ll admit. The coolest neighbors in my opinion were the Clatt’s and the Kelly’s. Not surprisingly, the Clatt’s and Kelly’s were the two families our family hung out with the most in Westbury Manor. Eventually, we all became one cool family. If love and laughter are two signs of a perfect childhood, well, I grew up with an unlimited supply of both thanks to the Clatt’s and Kelly’s. We shared more meals, attended more sporting events and celebrated more life milestones and everyday simplicities, than I could ever count. We toasted every get-together. Unbeknownst to our parents, one New Years Eve my sister Maureen and Kathy Kelly had their own celebration. Yessiree. My sister Maureen and Kathy were sneaking champagne down to the Clatt’s basement to drink it out of view of the adults and the rest of the party goers. Maureen and Kathy were both in high school at the time. When they got caught, Kathy told her parents that they hadn’t been drinking. She told them she simply had a speech impediment. I though this was hilarious. My sister Maureen wasn’t as quick thinking. All she could say to my Dad as he walked her home on the ice-covered sidewalk was, “I’m sorry, Dad”.

If the Westbury Manor kids weren’t drinking champagne, they were eating dog chews. Yessiree. You read this right. One night when we were having dinner with the Clatt’s, my brother Sean told on himself. Sean informed everyone at the table he thought the beef stick sample that came in the mailbox earlier in the day was beef jerky. He explained he he was really hungry and failed to read the packaging until after he took a bite. He admitted he only read the packaging simply because he thought the beef jerky was awful. He mentally concluded he would never purchase the new product. Sean looked at the package to inquire the beef jerky brand. That’s when he discovered he had consumed a dog chew. I couldn’t contain my laughter. Then Brad Clatt spoke up. He said he, too had done the same thing. I thought a was going to pass out from laughing so hard. I couldn’t believe these two were telling on themselves. But, I was thrilled they were! Yessiree. Dinner was always served with a healthy side of laughter when the Clatt’s and Gaffney’s were eating together. Brad had me doubled-over with laughter another night when our families were having dinner. Everyone was either talking or eating. No one was paying attention to Brad. The next thing we heard was Brad saying, “Hey! Who’s throwing the skewers?” Brad had taken the bamboo shish-kabob skewers and stuck them randomly in his hair. He sat there without cracking a smile. I almost choked on my food it was so unexpectedly hilarious. His Mom and Dad tried not to laugh. But, it was too funny not too. Brad’s brother, Mark, also has a superb sense of humor. Yessiree. It’s definitely genetic. To this day, Mark will send me something that makes me laugh out loud. Believe me. I know I am truly blessed to have brothers with fabulous senses of humor. Brad and Mark may not be my biological brothers like my brothers Sean and Brian. Nonetheless they are my brothers. Heck. Mark and Brad are both kindhearted, smart, successful and extremely hilarious. Obviously, we are related!

Another story I love to tell about growing up in Westbury Manor involves my brother Sean. One day Sean got the courage to ask Annie Roth out on a date. Annie lived up the street from our house. She was also the sister of Sean’s friend Peter. I’ll admit. I was a wee bit shocked when I heard Sean was going out on a date with Annie. I was even more shocked when Sean came home and stated he and Annie would probably never go out on another date. We knew if Sean readily told on himself about the dog chew, he would definitely spill the beans about his date. Thankfully for us he did! Sean admit to us that he got pulled over by the police as soon as he exited Westbury Manor. Yessiree. My brother was so nervous about going out with Annie that he forgot to turn his headlights on. I’m sure if Sheriff Andy Taylor had pulled them over the date would have had a much happier outcome. Now Barney Fife would have thrown the book at Sean saying, “Sniffing out crime, one step at a time”. And, “It’s a wise man who knows not to push the limits of the law”.

Westbury Manor may not be Mayberry, North Carolina. That’s perfectly fine by me. We may not have had Sheriff Taylor or Aunt Bee living in our neighborhood. But, I was surrounded by loving people that could give the folks of Mayberry a run for their money. I like to think we had more laughter in Westbury Manor than they ever did in Mayberry. We definitely had better stories! I have shared stories about growing up in Westbury Manor since I started my blog. I will continue to sprinkle a story here and there in future blog posts. It’s inevitably. God made sure I grew up in Westbury Manor. He put his glorious plan into effect when my parents asked Penny and Rick Clatt about the best places to live in St. Louis. Yessiree. God had my parents buy the perfect house, in the perfect neighborhood, with the perfect people…that are… and always will be…family.

I usually am not a fan of flying to New York. However, on September, 1st, I had a little pep in my step as I headed towards our gate. You could almost say I was giddy. I was a little nervous, too. My crew was experiencing the same emotions. We weren’t nervous about the Chicago passengers flying with us to New York’s LaGuardia Airport. We got over that years ago. We weren’t giddy because most of the passengers were from Chicago and not New York. Although, it was a pleasant surprise. What was the reason for our mixed emotions? It was the Airbus A220. None of us had ever flown on this aircraft. However, we all heard great things about the airplane. Especially the aft lavatory. I’ll admit. Skytresses and Skyters are quite adaptable to many new situations. The Airbus A220 was just another perfect example that Skytresses and Skyters are never too old to learn a new aircraft.

We rarely see the small, but, mighty, Airbus A220 with our Atlanta rotations. Currently, the 220 flies to specific northeastern and southern cities. Amazingly, it does have the capabilities to fly non-stop from New York to the west coast….or from Los Angeles to Hawaii. To me, the Airbus A220 is basically a Boeing 717 on steroids. Unlike the Boeing 717, the Airbus A220 has an in-flight entertainment system. Woo-hoo and Alleluia for this feature! The flight tracker system graphics are exceptional. I was mesmerized by the graphics as I watched the passenger’s monitor from my Skytress jumpseat. The passenger in-flight seat monitors are also bigger than most in our fleet. My senior Skytress eyes truly appreciate this detail. We quickly learned the Skytress In-flight system panel likes to be touched softly to respond. As a New York Skyter told us….This is a Diva airplane. She likes to be caressed ever so gently. This is unlike most of our other aircraft. Those panels liked to be boldly poked….. similar to how the passengers poke us as we walk down the aisles. In addition, the 220’s chimes system has a very dainty bell. This is in strike contrast to the rest of our aircraft. Those airplanes have a very clunky pong sound. I’ll admit. When the 220’s bells rang to signify we were at 10,000 feet, well,… we had no idea what the charming sound was. Yessiree. We may not be too old to learn something new. But, sometimes we “seniors” do need a slight learning curve. Another unique feature of the Airbus A220 requires the pilots to set the flight plan into the Skytress- Skyter in-flight system. So, if you are looking at your seat monitor and it shows your aircraft is going to Boston instead of Dallas,…we’ll, don’t blame the Skytresses or Skyters…..it’s definitely a pilot problem. Egads!

Our Captain briefed us more in-depth than is typical for a pre-flight briefing. Not only did he have three Skytresses that had never flown on this type of equipment. He, also, had a First Officer that was new to the aircraft, too. We all listened intently to everything the Captain had to say about our flight and about the airplane. We three Skytresse all admitted that we had reviewed the A220 in our manuals prior to our flight. I’ll admit. I, also, watched a few YouTube videos. Ron used to tell me there is a YouTube video for everything you need to learn about. He was correct in this particular instance, too. Thankfully, we had a Skytress commuting from Chicago to New York. She taught us how to get the Safety Video to load in the Skytress-Skyter system. I’ll admit. I put notes in my cell phone for the next time I fly the Airbus A220. Yessiree. You are never too old to learn. But, there are definitely days I forget. Taking notes was my personal Skytress backup system for future flights on the 220.

Thankfully, the aisles on the Airbus 220 are much wider than the Boeing 717. Yessiree. I didn’t catch my flight bags on even one seat as I walked to the back of the plane. Crazy, I know! Shockingly, I was able to fit my suitcase into the two-seat side of the aircraft,….wheels in first. You can’t do this on the Boeing 717 aircraft….even though passengers definitely try on every flight!

The galley in the back of the Airbus A220 is fabulous. Why? Well, first of all, there is a galley! Second, the lavatories are not in the galley! They are actually located outside the galley. Some of you may not understand the magnitude of these features. However, my Skytress and Skyter friends will greatly appreciate these details. Additionally, the porthole window in the galley has a magnified insert that allows us to get a clear view of the ground below. It was wonderful to see the streets clearly below while we were in flight. More importantly, if we need to assess the conditions outside during an emergency, this added detail is a complete game-changer.

My crew and I played around with the phones system prior to the passengers boarding. Yessiree. Phone systems are different on many of our aircraft. Thankfully, most of the phones are user friendly. I guess the Airbus aircraft manufacturers don’t believe Skytresses and Skyters are capable of learning new tricks. They put an eye-friendly handy phone menu on the back of the Airbus A220 phones. Yessiree. It’s captivating reading when you are standing in the galley getting a shot of cool air from the air vent located right next to it. Ah, an air vent in the galley. We can never have enough of those. Yessiree. Every Skytress and Skyter will absolutely verify this fact!

The windows on the 220 are much wider than our other aircraft. I was tickled by how this little detail added to the flying experience. At least my flying experience. Everyone in the row can clearly see out the window. Even when the passenger sitting next to the window has their big head plastered up against it.

The best window on the Airbus A220 is in the aft lavatory. Yessiree. You read that right. It’s the most talked about…. and I’m positive…the most photographed place on the Airbus. This day the laboratory was inop. But, that didn’t stop us from unlocking the lavatory to take a look-see….and a photograph. It, also, didn’t stop me from unlocking it again during flight to take a look-see…..and a photograph. Many Skytresses and Skyters have posted their 220 lavatory selfies on Facebook and Instagram. It’s definitely a bragging photo-op for sure. Incredibly, this isn’t the first plane I have been on with a window in the lavatory. I remember when Comair was still flying. They had an aircraft with a window in the lavatory. Inevitably, passengers would use the restroom on the ground. Then they would come out and ask the Skytress if the people on the ground could see in the window. I always thought “Yes, they can. But, they prefer not too.” I’ll admit. This will now become my standard response on the 220.

I’ve actually been trained on the Airbus A220 for several years. So, I was thrilled to finally fly on the aircraft. I’ll admit. There have been several aircraft in my long Skytress career that I have been trained on, but, never flew a trip on. The MD-11 came and went without me ever stepping foot on it. The Boeing 777 had an evacuation command of “step, jump and slide”. Incredibly, the only stepping I did on the Boeing 777 was in the mock-up at the training center. Each year at training I would evacuate the upper deck on the Boeing 747. The only time I came in close proximity to the 747 upper deck was when I walked by it as the airplane sat at the gate.

I was fortunate to fly on one aircraft that most Skytresses and Skyters never stepped foot on. Yessiree. I was one of very few Skytresses and Skyters to fly In-Charge on the Airbus A310. Most Skytresses and Skyters these days have never heard of this aircraft. The Airbus A310 came with the acquisition of Pan Am. This aircraft mostly flew internationally out of New York. However, one winter the Cincinnati base had a trip that flew the A310 from Cincinnati to New York’s JFK airport. The aircraft then flew on to Moscow. I wasn’t trained on the A310 when I first got my schedule showing I would be the Skytress In-Charge. My friends on my trip had been trained on the A310. However, none of them had ever flown on it. I decided I wouldn’t bring it to anyone’s attention that I hadn’t been trained on it. I figured I would just….in aviation terms….wing-it! Heck, I wanted to fly with my friends! Scheduling did call me several days prior to my trip and ask me if I wanted to drop the trip, or go to Salt Lake City to be trained on the equipment. So, off to Salt Lake City I went. I’ll admit. It was a small price to pay to fly with my friends.

My friends and I laughed when we boarded the Airbus A310. We still had no idea where anything was on the aircraft. We opened every cart and carrier there was before the passengers boarded. Fortunately, all airplanes are basically the same when you get down to it. Especially, the beverage carts. Luckily for us, we only had to conduct a beverage service to JFK. We quickly learned most of our passengers were heading to Moscow. We, also, learned very quickly that they didn’t speak any English. They couldn’t care less if we were conducting a proper beverage service for this particular aircraft. They simply wanted Vodka. Or rather Vooooodka! Our beverage service couldn’t have been easier! The following week when we got on the aircraft to go to JFK, supervisors flooded through the boarding door. Each one was overly eager to help us become familiar with the Airbus A310. They were flabbergasted when I told them we had everything under control. Little did they know, we learned everything the week before when we were left to our own devises. Truthfully, this is how Skytresses and Skyters learn to work any new aircraft. This is definitely how we learned to work the Airbus A220 the other week!

Amazingly, I’ve learned to work on more types of aircraft in my 33 years of flying than I can count on my two hands. Yessiree. The airline industry is forever changing. Just when we get used to our favorite airplane it’s either reconfigured or replaced by another model. Needless to say, I’ve had several favorite aircraft in my many years of flying. However, none became my favorite aircraft overnight. This all changed with the Airbus A200. My trip from Chicago to New York set a new airplane standard for me. Heck. It’s set a new aircraft standard for many of us. I haven’t heard one Skytress or Skyter quip that they didn’t like the Airbus 220. Of course, I’m sure the naysayers are out there. You can bet, I’m sure I’ll fly with them sooner than later, too! Personally, I am looking forward to flying on the A220 again really soon. Yessiree. I’m going to enjoy all the fabulous aspects of this particular aircraft while I can. If history repeats itself, this aircraft will eventually be updated by someone who has never been a Skytress or Skyter. I can see it now. Some nincompoop will narrow the aisles. If possible they will make the windows smaller. They may even reconfigure the back galley. I fear that they will eventually take out the prized aft lavatory window. Egads! Yessiree. I’m positive some knucklehead will do something awful, awful, awful to warrant the window being replaced with a boring wall. Fear not, though. I’m equally positive there will be a new aircraft that comes down the pike that will quickly become the coveted aircraft of Skytresses and Skyters alike. Heck, it may be currently being built by Airbus or Boeing as I write this blog post. Bring it on, I say. Remember. I learned long ago,…. Skytresses and Skyters are never too old to learn a new aircraft. Heck. It’s part of our Skytress and Skyter DNA!