The Rerouted Skytress

Skytresses and Skyters have the best job. At least most of the time. Usually I fly 3-day trips. Lately I have been flying trips with 30-hour layovers. Yessiree…I am only working two out of the three days. I’m not going to lie….it’s a pretty sweet deal. I’m not aware of any other companies that actually build an employee’s schedule with a paid non-working day. I’m sure years ago a sweet-talking Skytress convinced an airline CEO that this was a perfectly acceptable plan. Then they convinced the airline CEO that it was a perfectly acceptable plan for the Skytresses and Skyters to take a nap while at work…..and get paid for taking the nap, too. What other professions do the employees actually use a sign-up sheet to schedule their rest time during working hours? Yessiree….it’s a pretty sweet deal. I should clarify this statement by saying this only applies for international trips. Unfortunately, no one has convinced the airline CEO to let Skytresses and Skyters use a sign-up sheet to take a paid scheduled nap on domestic trips. Well, at least not yet!

I prefer to fly Tuesday through Thursday. Unfortunately, so do many senior Skytresses and Skyters. So, I don’t always hold the 30 -hour layovers that I want. Sad. I know. However, this past month I held several 30-hour layovers. They may not be the most exciting trips. But, I was excited to hold them. One trip was a 30-hour Little Rock layover. The other was a 30-hour Cincinnati layover.

Ah, Little Rock. Early in my career I had so many Little Rock layovers I thought Little Rock was my second home. In those days, downtown Little Rock was a ghost town by 5pm. Restaurants were nowhere to be found. TCBY, “The Country’s Best Yogurt” shop was really the only eating establishment close to our hotel. We stayed at The Camelot Hotel in the 1990’s. The hotel decor hadn’t been updated since the 1970’s. Or so it seemed. The hotel had burnt-orange, dark-brown, yellow-gold decor everywhere. The hotel even had shag carpeting. It was actually more funny than gross. Okay. I’ll admit it. It was pretty gross, too. Fortunately, Little Rock has improved immensely since those days. Now there are a plethora of restaurants and shops in downtown Little Rock. One of my favorite restaurants is partially owned by a Delta pilot. I like to think he built it because he was tired of eating TCBY yogurt on his layovers.

I know I’ve written in a prior blog post about the Little Rock Airport having the best ice in our airline system. Yessiree….I still get giddy every time I think about it. I, also, love the KCM security line at the airport. Do you remember KCM stands for “Known Crew Member”? Silly question. Of course, you remember this! The thing I love about the KCM in Little Rock is their doorbell. What? A doorbell? Yes. A doorbell! A doorbell with the happiest chime. Yessiree….I get giddy every time I think about this, too. There is a sign that informs crews to ring the doorbell if a TSA agent isn’t at the KCM security podium. This way the TSA doesn’t need to have an agent permanently stationed there. The doorbell is loud and it alerts an agent to come over when crews are utilizing the KCM checkpoint. It’s genius! Unfortunately, this trip we didn’t need to ring the doorbell. I think next time I’m going to “accidentally” lean against the doorbell….just so I can hear the happy chime. Shhhh…This will be our little secret.

We no longer stay at The Camelot. No. The Camelot is no longer in existence. Instead we stay at a hotel that is smack dab in the middle of everything. It’s a lovely hotel. They have a Starbucks in the lobby which makes it airline approved. But the most coveted thing about this hotel is the night light that turns on when you step on the floor next to the bed. I could kiss the brilliant designer that thought of this detail. I, like so many of my airline family members, usually keep the bathroom light on in the hotel room at night. We close the door over just enough to have a wee bit of light. The wee bit of light is great if we need to get up to use the bathroom. The wee bit of light is annoying if you don’t have to use the bathroom. When I layover in Little Rock I can sleep in the dark. If I need to use the bathroom the light turns on when I step on the floor. I cannot tell you how much this tickles me.

I had grandiose plans for my Little Rock layover. I was going to walk around the city and explore. The first snag in my plans came when I got in the elevator. I pushed the button for the lobby. Nothing happened. I pushed it again. Nothing happened. I pushed the door close button. Nothing happened. When the door finally started to close I had a bad feeling I was going to get stuck in there. I immediately thought of Ron. He hated elevators. He feared he would get stuck in them. So, I jumped out of the elevator. I waited a few minutes and eventually took another elevator down. When I got outside I was shocked by the oppressive heat. I walked a wee bit until I decided it wasn’t any fun sweating. What was fun…I walked by a donut shop. The shop is known for their creative donut creations. So, I went inside and purchased a couple….Only because I heard it’s a scientific fact that donuts help stop you from sweating. Okay. It was the voices in my head that told me this. But, they seemed pretty believable. So, I believed. They also told me to purchase a Starbucks Chai Tea Latte when I arrived back at the hotel. So I did. That my dear friends was the highlight of my Little Rock layover. When I met up with my crew the next day I discovered I had done more on my layover than anyone else. They all walked outside…felt the heat…and went back up to their air conditioned hotel rooms.

I definitely had mixed feelings about my 30-hour Cincinnati layover. I had been based in Cincinnati for years. I loved flying with my incredible friends in Cincinnati. But, things have changed drastically in Cincinnati. Our company doesn’t utilize the airport like they used too. It’s hard for me to go in and out of there now. I remember how it used to be. It makes me sad to see how it is now. I miss seeing all the familiar faces. I still have many friends that live in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. I had planned to reach out to them and tell them I was in town. I only reached out to my friend Jennie Lou. Yes. THE Jennie Lou! My dear sweet friend. Unfortunately, Jennie Lou had to go to Lexington to get her haircut. I completely understood. If we learned anything from the pandemic…..hair appointments are essential. Then I decided I really need a day to do nothing. My body needed to rest. I knew the following week would be emotional for me. It would be the anniversary of Ron’s passing. Then two days later it would be his birthday. My long Cincinnati layover was going to be the perfect layover to be by myself and catch up on sleep. Or, so I thought.

We were supposed to arrive in Cincinnati at midnight. Unfortunately, our plane was late coming in to Atlanta. So, we arrived in Cincinnati at 3am. Ugh. It wasn’t all bad. My friend, Darlene, was on our flight to Cincinnati. Darlene and I used to be based in Cincinnati together. Darlene transferred to Atlanta this past year when our company downsized the Cincinnati base. Hopefully, Darlene and I will fly together soon now that she is based in Atlanta. One other thing that made the long day bearable….. I received two pennies from Heaven in the Cincinnati jetway as I was walking off the airplane. I put them in my left pocket with the other two pennies I received from Heaven earlier in the day at the Atlanta airport. Ah, pennies from Heaven. They definitely are my favorite kind of pennies!

Even though I was flying with Skytresses I knew, my layover plan was to spend quality time with me, myself and I. That plan changed when I agreed to meet up with my crew for lunch. Me, myself and I agreed this was a much more fun plan. I was still steadfast with my plan to sleep-in, though. I closed my eyes to go to sleep at 430am. Then I abruptly opened my eyes at 7am when the jackhammering started outside the hotel. It continued until I left to meet up with my crew for lunch. Me, myself and I were not happy about the jackhammering. Nope. Not one bit!

When I was younger and my family lived in Cincinnati, my Dad worked downtown. His office overlooked the fountain at Fountain Square. The fountain is a bronze sculpture of a woman. Water pours out of the statue’s out-stretched hands. I was mesmerized by the fountain when I was younger. Sadly, The Square has lost some of it’s magic for me. The fountain is now lost amongst all the restaurants and shops surrounding the Square. I barely noticed the fountain as we crossed the street. What I did notice was the Graeter’s Ice Cream shop on the corner of the Square. I will admit my eyes did light up when I saw the shop. Anyone who has ever lived in Cincinnati knows about Graeter’s Ice Cream. It’s iconic. And delicious! Even before we turned to head towards the restaurant I told my crew I was getting ice cream after lunch. They never lived in Cincinnati. So, they didn’t understand the joy in my voice or in my heart.

Our lunch was marvelous. And so was the weather. My crew and I sat outside and watch all the people that were going back to work after their lunch break. Yessiree,…these people were scheduled to work and were actually working. Unlike us, who were scheduled not to work…. while we were at work….getting paid not to work. That wasn’t confusing, was it?! When we headed back to the hotel my Skytress friends almost forgot about my plan to get Graeter’s Ice Cream. I didn’t. They stood back as I proudly walked up to the register and ordered my Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip ice cream. The sales clerk was flabbergasted when my Skytress friends declined to get any ice cream. He knew immediately that the Skytresses weren’t from Cincinnati. They even declined a taste of the ice cream when he offered them one. What?! I know. I was incredulous, too. Yessiree…..I can hear the moans from my fellow Graeter’s Ice Cream lovers as I write this.

I opened my curtains when I got back to my hotel room. I was afraid I would fall asleep once I sat on the bed. My plan was to go to bed early since we had a 450am pickup the next morning. Oh, there is that plan again! I looked out the window and I studied everything within my eyesight. Yes. I lived many years in Cincinnati. But, now everything I looked at outside was all foreign to me. I was a visitor now. It definitely was an odd feeling. I confess…..Many nights when I go to sleep I have a reoccurring flying dream. I am in the Cincinnati Airport. But, it’s more like a mall. A super-sized mall, to be more specific. I walk all around trying to find my departure gate. Only, I keep turning into stores that have no reason to be at the airport. It’s exasperating for me. I feverishly look for a connecting gate monitor. I know I have to get to my gate before I get in trouble. However, I only find regular TV’s. I spend most of my dream going up and down escalators trying to get to my gate. It’s all very confusing. This is how I felt on my layover. I knew I was in Cincinnati. But, nothing was the way it was supposed to be. I found it all very unnerving. Later that night when I tried to fall asleep my mind was flooded with memories of my days living and flying out of Cincinnati. Then memories with Ron swirled around my head. Yes. Time had changed so many things. I was becoming anxious. I couldn’t sleep. I turned on the 11pm newscast hoping to see a familiar face reporting the news. I flipped from station to station. I didn’t recognize anyone. I could feel myself becoming panicked. I turned off the TV and just laid in bed. I repeatedly took deep breaths trying to calm myself. Sadly, it was all for not. I eventually got up at 330am. I figured if I couldn’t sleep, I might as well start getting ready for work. Yep. You guessed it…..I made another plan.

I was relieved when we finally got to the airport. Amazingly, I was more exhausted than I had been before I left for my 30-hour layover. I was definitely counting down the hours I had left until I got home to St. Louis. I only had 17 hours to go. Ugh. Yep….I regretted counting the hours as soon as I did it! When we entered the airport I had to show my crew how to get to the KCM security line. Sadly there isn’t a happy doorbell at the KCM in Cincinnati. Instead, there was a nice TSA agent sitting at a podium. This nice TSA agent informed me I got the random security check. Yessiree,….I was the dreaded “selectee”. This means I was selected to go through the regular security line. One of my Skytress friends asked me if I wanted her to go with me. I told her I would be fine. Then, of course, I had trouble finding the designated line. I feared my reoccurring dream was about to come true. Ironically, there were two escalators to choose from after I passed through the regular security check point. I’m not going to lie….My heart sank. I couldn’t believe it! My nightmare WAS coming true. Fortunately, I could see my crew waiting for me. My Skytress In-Charge informed me of our departure gate number. What?! I didn’t have to find a gate monitor. Whew! I was definitely relieved when she told me this information. We all decided we would take the passenger train to our concourse. Ah, the Cincinnati Airport train. It’s been the same passenger train going between concourses for years. It’s definitely a happy little train. At least it is for me. I smiled as I stepped inside the familiar train. Yessiree…I was excited. Happy memories of filled my Skytress brain. At that moment, I knew without a doubt,… my 30-hour layover was worth every sleepless minute.