There are many people that are not fans of Friday the 13th. They consider it an unlucky day. Not me. I rather like Friday the 13th. It is usually a very lucky day for me. This past Tuesday the 13th, on the other hand, was not a lucky day at all for me. It was more like other people’s Friday the 13th. Even the lucky penny I found couldn’t reverse the bad luck. Fortunately, my bad luck is your good luck. Yes, brace yourself. Here comes a Rerouted Skytress story….complete with a few reroutes!

Tuesday the 13th reared it ugly head early in the morning. I was heading to the airport at 445am. There was no rain in the forecast. Yet, as I pulled out of the subdivision there it was. Thankfully, the rain wasn’t too bad. It was just bad enough to mess up my hair for the day……..My day that lasted over 24 hours.

I arrived in Atlanta without any issues. Other than my crazy rain hair, that is. I signed in for my trip and went to the room to get my obligatory temperature check. I passed with flying colors. Well, I’m not really sure if there were colors. Especially colors that were flying. But, I didn’t have a temperature. And that was the important thing. No sooner did I sit down in the crew lounge when my phone rang. I knew immediately it was an Atlanta number. More specifically, it was an airline company number. The pleasant gal on the other end identified herself to me. She explained she was from the airline Covid-19 team. As pleasant as she was, I knew what she was about to tell me wasn’t going to be so pleasant. She informed me that someone I may have been in contact with was exhibiting COVID-like symptoms. My stomach did a flip. Then it did a flop. The kind lady then informed me that I was not in prolonged contact with the person. However, I would still need to self-monitor for 14 days. She then stated she would email me information that I may or may not need….. so, I didn’t need to write anything down. I laughed….. because I was already writing things down. I informed the pleasant lady that I had already received my two COVID vaccinations. I wasn’t sure if I was trying to be more positive for her or me by stating this information. I hope she felt better, because I didn’t. No, a very bizarre thing happened instead. I hung up with the woman and started to experience all the COVID -19 symptoms. Well, sort of. Yes, I could still taste and smell. I knew I didn’t have a fever minutes prior to the phone call. Now, I was certain I was feverish with at least 105 degree temperature. Of course, at that moment, I couldn’t remember all the symptoms of COVID. But, I was quite sure I now had them all. Worse yet, I was convinced I would have to quarantine in a hotel at the Atlanta airport for two weeks. Fortunately, I pulled myself together and came to my senses. And just like that the COVID-19 symptoms all went away. Then I received a text from my sister informing me a lady from the airline COVID-19 team had called my house looking for me. My sister’s text brought back the bad memory of my recent phone call. The text did more than that, actually. Amazingly, before I could text my sister back to let her know I spoke with the company team member, ….all of my COVID-19 symptoms came rushing back.

I was once again COVID- free when I had to go brief for my trip. Well, that is, unless being a complete ding-a-ling is a COVID-19 symptom. If this is the case….then I was still exhibiting COVID symptoms. Earlier when I got to the crew lounge I looked up my briefing table number. I wrote the briefing number on my flight rotation. I even circled the number. My crew and I were to brief at table 4. Promptly at briefing time, I went to table 3 and patiently waited for my crew. They never came. I heard two Skytresses at the table next to mine talking about their trip. They were going to the same places as me. Unlike me, however, they were sitting at table 4. Ugh! Tuesday the 13th was definitely making itself known and making me look like an idiot at the same time. After I realized my blunder, I briefed with my crew at briefing table 4 and off we went to fly our easy trip. Did I say “our easy trip”? Yes, I did. Unfortunately, Tuesday the 13th heard me say it, too.

Our flight to New Orleans was bumpy. So bumpy we barely had time to throw our snack bags at the passengers before the Captain had us take our jumpseats. I sat on my Skytress jumpseat and counted the minutes until we were to land in New Orleans. The minutes were quickly adding up. I realized we were taking an awful, awful, awful long time getting to New Orleans. Of course, there was a perfectly good reason why it was taking us so long to get to New Orleans. It was Tuesday the 13th! There were severe thunderstorms storms in The Big Easy. We weren’t going to land in New Orleans. No, we were being diverted to Pensacola.

When the announcement was made for the passengers to deplane in Pensacola, I knew we were entering a pickle stage. When I walked to the front of the plane I realized how bad the pickle was. A severe thunderstorm was hanging over New Orleans. And it wasn’t moving. I was informed by our Captain that their legal duty day limitations were fast approaching. Our pilots were going to time out. They would have to stay in Pensacola to layover. My crew and the passengers were not going to stay in Pensacola. We were going to have to wait for new pilots to deadhead in to Pensacola to fly us to New Orleans. Tuesday the 13th was being relentless. Our cell phones started ringing off the hooks. Oh, boy. The Rerouted Skytress was being rerouted. Reroutes were coming in fast. First we were going to have a long 30-hour Portland, Maine layover. I could instantly tell the Portland layover wasn’t going to be feasible. The computer had us landing in New Orleans hours before our new pilots were to arrive in Pensacola to take us there. When the computer figured out the flight times didn’t match up….we got another reroute. We were going to have a long 30-hour Chicago layover. Thanks to another Tuesday the 13th reroute, we were going to get home 6 hours later than our original scheduled release time on Thursday. This was not good for the commuters on my crew. Unfortunately, I was one of them.

We sat on the airplane for 8 hours watching our 30-hour Chicago layover change multiple times. We were no longer going to Chicago. We were now going to have a long domicile layover in Atlanta and deadhead to Chicago the next day. We would eventually fly the rest of the rerouted trip. Finally, we got word that our new pilots were on their final approach into Pensacola. Of course, the agents wanted to re-board the passengers before the pilots landed. The agents wanted us to be ready to depart as soon as the new pilots arrived on our aircraft. So, of course, we boarded the passengers back onto the airplane. Now, did I mention it was Tuesday the 13th? You guessed it. We waited on the aircraft with all our passengers as the pilots circled Pensacola. Over an hour later we finally pushed back from the gate with our new pilots to go to New Orleans. We pushed back from the gate. We didn’t take off. No that would only happen if it was Friday the 13th. We sat on the tarmac in Pensacola and we waited some more. All the while, our Atlanta domicile layover was getting shorter and shorter.

We were a highly motivated crew when we finally arrived in New Orleans. Our pilots in New Orleans had been waiting at the airport the whole time we were in Pensacola. They were as anxious to get back to Atlanta as we were. We were now scheduled to arrive in Atlanta at 2am. Because it was still Tuesday the 13th in New Orleans….we got a new arrival gate in Atlanta. We would now be parking at a gate on the international concourse. Unfortunately, we all knew the trains to baggage claim would no longer be running that late at night. We, along with our passengers, would have to walk over a mile to get to baggage claim and to the hotel shuttles. Fortunately, the Captain called Atlanta and pleaded for a better arrival gate. I found a lucky penny from Heaven in the gatehouse area while the plane was being fogged. These two things in tandem managed a miracle before we boarded one Atlanta bound passenger. Yes, we were granted our wish for a better gate. Our new arrival gate would be close to baggage claim and the hotel shuttles. Finally, we boarded our plane to head to Atlanta. We pushed back from the gate. And you guessed it….we waited. Our weight and balance numbers needed to be rectified. I kept receiving updated messages on my Skytress phone. Our arrival time in Atlanta kept getting pushed back. We eventually landed in Atlanta at 230am. My crew and I had briefed the day before at 1130am. We were plumb tuckered out. We just wanted to get to our hotel and go to sleep. My Skytress In-Charge called the hotel to make sure the hotel shuttle was still operating. It was. Unfortunately, the hotel shuttle driver was on his break. He couldn’t pick us up until 315am. We were exasperated. Our Skytress In-Charge called the hotel back and requested they pay for our cab ride to the hotel instead. Fortunately, there was still some luck in the lucky penny I found. The hotel manager agreed to pay for our cab. At 330am I walked into my hotel room. That’s when I noticed I had sat on chocolate in the cab on the way to the hotel. It was all over my Skytress uniform pants. I shook my head in disbelief. It was another dose of bad luck….complements of Tuesday the 13th.

Happy 1st Anniversary to The Rerouted Skytress! This Wednesday will mark the first time I pushed the “Publish” button for my blog. Oh boy. I can’t tell you all how overly scared and nervous I was to push that button. I had never written a blog before. I had no idea what I was doing. I watched as many YouTube videos as I could to figure it all out. Of course, the YouTube videos made it all seem soooo easy. However, when I sat down to create my blog it wasn’t sooooo easy for me. I had an antiquated iPad. No one on YouTube was using an antiquated iPad to blog. I know. Crazy! Believe you me, I searched long and hard for that one person that was using my generation iPad. But, never underestimate what a Skytress can do…..especially with little information or understanding. Yep, we really are miracle workers. Amazingly, I did figured out how to build a blog on my old iPad. Well,..I should say, I figured out enough things to make the blog look presentable. I still don’t know how I did it really. It definitely helped that everyone was in quarantine. I had nothing better to do than to click on my iPad for hours. On the evening of April 7, 2020 I sat in my basement and pushed the “Publish” button. To my amazement I actually published my first blog! When I got positive responses from my family and friends a short time later, I was elated. My blog had taken flight. Now 52 weeks later, here we are!

I decided when I first started writing my blog that I would publish it only when I felt like it. I wasn’t going to stress out about having a set schedule for posting my blog. Skytresses and Skyters loathe stress. For those of you who have been faithfully reading my blog, you know I have been routinely publishing it on Monday evenings. I try to publish The Rerouted Skytress around the same time every week. Yep, sort of like an actual flight schedule. Not a strict flight schedule. Skytresses and Skyters loathe strict schedules. We are more “ish” people. You know, “ the flight departs 6-ish”. Somewhere along the way I decided I was going to post a blog every week for a year. This was not always the best decision. COVID-19 rerouted this Skytress right out of the skies. Many weeks I wondered what I was I going to write about. Thankfully, I don’t just have varicose veins from flying over 30 years. No, I have 30 years of Skytress stories. Thankfully, I also have family and friends. So, whether they wanted me to….or not. I’ve shared their stories too.

I loved the early days of writing my blog. I would write downstairs in the evening in my brother’s man cave while either the Cowboy Channel or the Hallmark Channel was on in the background. I discovered some of my best writing happened late at night when everyone was in bed. Unfortunately, I also, discovered some of my most inspirational writing came to me while I was in bed, too. Just as I was about to fall asleep, a clever phrase or thought would pop into my head. I was constantly jumping out of bed to jot down a line or word on a piece of paper. Early on I learned to write things down quickly. If I waited too long the perfect sentence or thought was gone. Oh, I cringe when I think of all those delightful sentences you all have missed. Yes. Simply because I was too lazy to get out of bed to write it down. Whoops. Sorry.

Last week’s blog got posted on Monday….if you were in the Mountain or Pacific times zones. If you were in the Eastern or Central time zones, well, your Monday blog post was in a holding pattern. You see, I was flying Monday and I didn’t get to the hotel in Birmingham until after midnight. Yes, I know there is a feature to set my blog post be published at a scheduled time. Only, I haven’t used it yet. I’m sure I will eventually get around to learning how to use this feature. After all, I figured out how to set up a blog site on an out-of-date iPad. Last week, however, I used the tried and true method of pushing the “Publish” button. I knew from my last Birmingham layover that they had a strong internet connection. So, I wasn’t too concerned about posting my blog when we got to the hotel. I, also, knew from my last Birmingham layover that I needed to throw a few extra things in my Skytress survival bag. Last time I had a Birmingham layover I didn’t have a hair dryer or even a plastic glass to drink out of. Darn you COVID-19! Thanks to my curly hair I survived without a hair dryer. But, I wasn’t willing to do another Birmingham layover without drinking my club soda and lime in a cup. I know. I can be so highfalutin at times. To my delight as I was signing my crew in at the hotel, the lady at the front desk asked us if we needed a hair dryer. Gosh, she must have been a Skytress in a previous life. We didn’t have to ask her for one. She also asked us if we need a coffee maker. Seriously! She was either a Skytress in a former life or an angel in this life. When I got to my hotel room I had to laugh. There was a hair dryer and a coffee maker in the room. There were also plastic glasses and paper cups. I surmised the hotel was starting to get back to normal. Or else, they just got tired of airline crews asking for these amenities and put them back in the hotel rooms. If the truth be told, it’s probably a little of both.

Last week was my first time flying as the Skytress In-Charge during COVID. Fortunately, I had a wonderful crew and the passengers were extremely nice. Even more fortunate, I didn’t have to be at the airport at 445am to catch a flight to Atlanta. No, I got to catch the 10am flight! What a treat. I did have to learn a few new Covid-19 PA’s for my trip. Well, I didn’t really have to learn them. I just had to read them. I’m sure you are thinking this seems easy enough right? Wrong. Whoever wrote the PA’s must have a vendetta against Skytresses and Skyters. The PA’s are awful, awful, awful. The new PA’s are supposed to be more streamlined, too. But, they really aren’t. Eventually, I just made sure I hit the major points and winged the rest. Skytresses and Skyters are obviously great at winging things. Gee whizz, I couldn’t resist typing that last line. Another beautiful thing happened on my trip. I got my Omaha Christmas ornament. Remember my trip with Ron and the emergency we had on the airplane? Remember how Ron collected magnets from cities that meant something to him? Remember how I collect Christmas ornaments from cities that mean something to me? Remember how Ron got his magnet to commemorate our adventurous trip together, but, I didn’t have an ornament? Wow! I’m asking you to remember a lot. I’ll try to remember not to do this ever again. Anyhow, when we landed in Omaha last week we had to go out into the gate area while the airplane was being fogged. So, I went to the itty-bitty gift shop in the airport. I immediately saw the Omaha magnets and thought of Ron. Amazingly, on another display I saw Omaha Christmas ornaments. There was even a selection to choose from. Imagine my delight. Imagine my dilemma. I scrutinized each ornament. I wanted to pick the perfect one. I know the lady in the gift shop thought I was a Lookie Lou just killing time until our airplane was sanitized. I mean who buys Christmas ornaments in March? Well, I do. I proudly walked up to the register with my ornament. I chose an ornament with “Nebraska” on it and not “Omaha “. I worried about this for a moment or two after I bought my ornament. Then I decided I’ve only flown into Omaha for the past 30 years. When we start flying into Lincoln and North Platte, Nebraska, I’ll reconsider my “Nebraska” Christmas ornament choice.

I’m going to give you all a moment to grab a tissue. I have some difficult news to pass along. You may have to grab a box of tissues. Here it goes…I won’t be posting my blog weekly for awhile. My plan is to post a blog twice a month for the next few months. Sorry. I’ll wait until you finish crying. Sadly, my Birmingham trip was my first trip back from vacation. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have vacation again until September. I’m, also, not planning to take any more company leaves because of COVID-19. Yes. I’m going to be a full-time Skytress for awhile. Like how I said for “awhile”? I chuckled at that, too. Yep, I’ll be a full-time Skytress until my next vacation in September. That’s five consecutive months of flying. Yikes! You better hand me some tissues! I’m not going to lie. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed dabbling as a Skytress this past year. I loved my company leaves ,as much as, my many weeks of vacation. All the time away from flying has made it easier for me to post my blog weekly. Fortunately, your loss will actually be your gain. I will have current Skytress stories to pass along. Yippee! Hey, in-flight beverage services return on April 14th. We are, also, eliminating the blocked middle seat on May 1st. These two changes alone should provide me with ample passenger and crew stories to blog about. Of course, I’ll still throw in a couple Oldies, but, Goodies stories every now and then. These stories aren’t Oldies, but Goodies stories for nothing!

Speaking about oldies, but, goodies. I have to update you on my Mom. Don’t worry. She won’t get mad I wrote that. Remember her nickname is Goodie. The oldie part? Well, let’s chalk that up to bad parenting. She really should have taught me to respect my elders better! My Mom is another reason I am not going to be writing a weekly blog. No, she didn’t ground me for referring to her as an oldie. Unfortunately, my Mom hit a bump on the road of life the other week. Actually, she hit the inside of the garage. She’s okay. But, she gave up driving right then and there. This was before we knew the brick fell off the outside of the house, too. But, that’s another story for another blog. Several days later my Mom ended up in the hospital with cellulitis. She was released from the hospital five days later. Unfortunately, she had another hiccup in life when she got home. My sister and I are tag- teaming to care for my Mom 24 -hours around the clock. It’s all good. My Mom took care of us 24 hours around the clock when we were younger. It’s time we reciprocated. I would love to spend more time writing my blog. But right now between flying full time and taking care of my Mom, writing a weekly blog isn’t feasible. Maybe once Mom is able to do more for herself and I am back in the swing of the Skytress life, I’ll go back to a weekly blog. Until then….we will meet back here on this blog site twice a month.

I’m incredibly proud of myself for posting 52 consecutive weeks of The Rerouted Skytress. I’m excited to push “Publish” on this blog post. One year of blogging is something to celebrate. Well, at least it is for me. It does help that I am a Skytress. We celebrate everything! When I wrote my first blog post, I referred to Ron’s card he gave me that said, “Let’s have a great trip”. Well, I am having a great trip blogging. I have no plans to stop writing. I hope you all continue to join me on this crazy adventure. Thank you for being part of this great trip this past year. Your comments and encouragement have been beautiful blessing to me. I couldn’t have soared this long without you. You are the best crew this Skytress could ever hope to fly with. So, Happy 1st Anniversary to you all, too!

This Sunday was Palm Sunday. Like every week since COVID -19, I attended Mass on-line. However, this Palm Sunday, I was more hopeful for the future. Last Palm Sunday, we were in the early stages of the pandemic. This time last year I wasn’t sure about much of anything. Well, I was definitely sure of one thing…. pandemics are awful, awful, awful! Yep, I am not a fan of pandemics. I even told God this. You know…in case he was in Heaven wondering about my thoughts on this particular topic. I was, also, sure I was going to do my part to make the pandemic end as quickly as it started. Yep, I told this to God, too. You know…in case he was in Heaven wondering what I was planning to do now that we had a pandemic. Like I said, last year I watched Palm Sunday on my iPad. When the priest mentioned we could drive up to church later that day to get our blessed Palms, I drove up there. Like I said, I was doing my part to end the pandemic. Irish Catholics are very superstitious. I didn’t want to jinx the world by not getting my blessed Palms. Yep,…I told this to God, too.

Palm Sunday is a very special day for Catholics for the obvious religious reasons. It is also special to Catholics for the non- obvious reasons. Yes, it’s the final week of surviving life without the things we gave up for Lent. Ah, yes, our Lenten sacrifices. I’m sure you have heard many Catholics talk about what they are giving up…or gave up…for Lent. We sort of make a big deal about it. Not because it is a beautiful thing to do. Even though it is. No. Mostly, we talk about it because it’s hard to give up things. Especially, things we love. All during Lent we talk about how on Easter Sunday the first thing we are going to do is…..enjoy what we gave up for Lent. Well, except for those who gave up swearing. I know many Catholics give up swearing for Lent. However, not too many admit they can’t wait until Easter Sunday so they can swear like a sailor again. No, the big thing Catholics talk about doing on Easter Sunday, usually entails eating something they gave up. I guarantee thousands of Catholics give up sugar items for Lent….particularly candy….especially chocolate. Many Catholics, also choose to give up their favorite drink for Lent. For many of people, this is soda. . When I was younger I usually gave up drinking soda for Lent. There were many Easter mornings I woke up and immediately drank a soda. Alleluia!!!…It was the most glorious thing as far as I was concerned. Ironically, now that I am older, I no longer drink soda. Go figure.

One Lent I decided I wasn’t going to give something up. No, I decided I was going to rejoice every day of Lent by doing something special. Yes, we Catholics have this option, too. It’s actually God approved. This particular Lent God spoke to my heart to chose this option. I chose to do something special for Ron during Lent. Ron could be very hard on himself at times. This made me sad. I always told Ron I wish he could see himself through my eyes. He was such an incredible human being. So, for Lent that year, I decided I would text him one thing each day that I admired and loved about him. Of course, my list was much longer than there are days of Lent. But, each morning I happily texted him one of his many special qualities. Some days Ron would reply with a witty text. He couldn’t help it. Humor was one of his best qualities. Some days he would simply say thank you. I know on these days his soul needed be reminded God blessed him with this marvelous trait. For Easter I gave Ron a booklet which contained each attribute I had texted him during Lent. I wanted him to have a tangible reminder of all his wonderful God-given qualities.

The next year for Lent I decided I would send Ron a quote to start each day. Ron loved to read. He loved things that made him think and touched his soul. We definitely had this in common. I actually have a Pinterest board were I pin quotes that speak to me in some way. Some are thought provoking quotes. Others are silly quotes that make my soul smile. I texted Ron a little of each type. After all, variety is the spice of life, right? One quote I sent Ron really surprised him. It was a quote by Albert Einstein. Ron loved quantum physics, the Black Hole, and a plethora of science topics. He loved to talk about Tesla….you know, the person Nikola Tesla, not the car. He, also, thoroughly enjoyed talking about Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein’s quote that peaked Ron’s interest was, “ A ship is always safe at the shore. But, that is not what it is built for”. Ron talked about this quote on numerous occasions. I think this quote spoke to him for several reasons. First, he was amazed Einstein said it. Let’s face it, Albert was known more for physics than philosophy. Second, Ron loved the reference to a ship on the water. One of Ron’s favorite things in life was being out on the water on a boat. One of my favorite things to do was sing Kenny Loggins’ “Return to Pooh Corner” to Ron. So, of course, I had to text Ron a quote from Winnie the Pooh. It was a quote from Tigger. Ron laughed at this quote. Which was what I had intended. That’s what I loved about Ron. He was extremely intelligent and had a phenomenal sense of humor.

The last Lenten list I created for Ron was his “song of the day” list. Anyone who knew Ron, knew he loved music. All kinds of music. What better way to start a music lover’s day than with a song,…right? Needless to say, this was the most joyful Lenten list to compile. It should be noted that I am not a very good singer. Actually, I’m pretty awful. So, I usually never sing around anyone. Incredibly, though, I sang with Ron all the time. We couldn’t help ourselves. Something would trigger a song in our heads and we would break out singing. Not surprisingly, some of those songs made the Lenten list. My list of songs for Lent was very diverse. Obviously, most songs on the Lenten list meant something extra- special to us. There were other songs I added to the list simply because I loved them. I knew Ron would appreciate them as well. I know Ron thoroughly loved my quirky list of songs. How did I know this? Well, he would tell me, of course! Happily, many days Ron reciprocate and he would text me my song for the day. He continued to do this long after Lent, too. Ron’s repertoire of music was vastly greater than mine. So, many times I had to google the song he deemed my song for the day. Ron would tease me for doing this. But, I didn’t mind. I love music. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the names of songs or who sang them. I clearly was not born with this gene. No. I was born with the Google gene, instead.

I didn’t give anything up for Lent this year. I, also, didn’t create any Lenten lists. Instead, I’ve been listening to the songs on the list I made for Ron. Not surprisingly, the songs still fill my soul. I’ve, also, been looking over my favorite quotes on Pinterest. There are over a thousand quotes on my Pinterest board. I know. That’s a lot. I tried to delete some. But, I can’t. All those saved quotes still inspire me. Hey, inspiration from music and much loved quotes during an awful pandemic is a beautiful thing. Of course, I don’t have to tell this to God in Heaven. No. He knows. It’s actually God approved. Have a blessed Holy Week my dear friends. Happy Easter.

Whew! It’s been quite a year for all of us. This time last year I was in my grocery store dumbstruck as people shopped while wearing plastic gloves and N95 face masks. A mask mandate was not in effect yet for my St Louis County. Unlike the people in my grocery store, I was taking a wait and see approach with COVID-19. I was adamant I was not going to get swept up in all the hysteria. Heck, I had St. Patrick’s Day to worry about.

The next week I was flabbergasted when I went to the grocery store. Yes, as we all know now….all the toilet paper was missing! The meat, eggs and milk products were also running low. I was no longer keeping a wait and see approach. Skytresses know about hoarding…..This was hoarding! I started to take a defensive shopping approach. I was going to make sure I stocked my basket while there were still things to buy. I took great pride in the fact that no one could tell I was an off-duty Skytress on a covert grocery store hoarding mission. That’s the beauty of being a Skytress or Skyter. We smile through everything. Only another Skytress or Skyter would be able to see the hoarding gleam in my eyes. I wasn’t wearing a face mask at this point in the new COVID-19 world. However, I was absolutely keeping my distance from the other shoppers. Skytresses and Skyters are professionals when it comes to keeping a healthy distance from potential virus carrying people.

Astonishingly, the next time I went to the grocery store I had to give myself a pep talk just to walk inside. It was similar to the pep talk I give myself before I do a New York to Florida flight. I told myself I could do it. I tried to convince myself it wouldn’t be as bad as I’ve made it out to be in my mind. I did wash my hands in the portable sink outside the grocery store before I walked into the newly designated “Entrance Only” side. I don’t know who thought of the sink….but, I have a huge suspicion a Skytress or Skyter suggested it. Yes, we know things! Yep, especially how gross people can be when it comes to cleanliness. Stunningly, when I went to check out there was a uniform security officer standing at the front of the store. They were there to deal with customers who were not adhering to the “one item only” signs. Mostly they were there to stop the toilet paper hoarders…..Only there wasn’t any toilet paper to hoard. I was relieved I didn’t need to buy toilet paper. No, unbeknownst to us, my family had won the toilet paper lottery. We had received our Amazon shipment of toilet paper and paper towels before the world went hoarding crazy. My poor niece in college couldn’t find any toilet paper anywhere near her school. Like everyone in the early days of the pandemic I was debating how much I loved her. Did I love her enough to give her some of our coveted toilet paper? Of course, I did. I didn’t have to though. Thankfully, my sister found and mailed her camping toilet paper. Whew!…for that discovery!

Today when I went into the grocery store I still wore my face mask. Amazingly, it was the first time in a year I could use either entrance into the store. It was like having a Known Crew Member entrance. And everyone going in and out of the store was a known crew member!Happily, the grocery store shelves have been stocked for months. When I walked down the paper aisle to get some parchment paper, I smiled. On the other side of the aisle the shelves were stocked with paper products. No one is hoarding it anymore. However, being the ever diligent hoarding Skytress, I admit I have rolls of paper towels and toilet paper stocked in my basement. I even have extra cleaning products and liquid soap. Hey, I know what it’s like to go from coast to coast on a plane without enough supplies. I’m not going through another pandemic without extra supplies. Whew! Let’s all pray we never have to go through another pandemic, though. One pandemic is enough for me.

Last Monday I got my 1st vaccine shot. It was the first day tier 3 people were allowed to receive their shots in Missouri. Whew! I was so relieved when I got my email on Saturday stating I could finally schedule my appointment. Skytresses and Skyters in other states have been getting vaccinated for weeks. I’m also relieved to know that when I go back flying on March 29th, I will be protected 60% with just the 1st shot. Then after I fly that trip, I will get my second vaccination. You can bet, I will be counting the 14 days after my second shot until I will be fully vaccinated. Our airline even has an app to update our vaccination status. The other day I was thrilled to check the box stating I received my first vaccination. Who knows how I will react when I get my second shot. I may just cry happy Skytress tears when I update my status to received second shot. Whew! I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. But,…Haven’t we all!?

I know everyone has been waiting a long time for the return of an actual beverage service on our flights. When Skytresses and Skyters are looking forward to a regular in-flight service,…whew!…you know it’s been too long without one. I’m happy to report, everyone can look forward to our regular in-flight service returning very soon. That being said, I’m taking bets to see how long it takes for one of us to reminisce about the good old days when we just handed everyone a snack bag and moseyed to the back of the plane. Thankfully, our planes are continuing to fill up with passengers, too. After a year of losing millions of dollars each month, this month we may actually break even. Whew!!! And double Whew!! to this news. We still have middle seats blocked until April 30th, though. I won’t be surprised to see this policy discontinue after the 30th. So…middle-seat passengers…. Get ready to fight for your armrests again!

My next trip I will be the Skytress In-Charge. Whew! I haven’t flown in this role since COVID came into our lives. I have a whole new set of COVID PA’s to make as the Skytress In-Charge. So, I will definitely be reviewing them before my trip. I have a 30 hour layover in Birmingham. I don’t plan on doing anything with my crew. I know some crews have been hanging out together on their layovers for months. I also know this is how many have contracted COVID. I don’t want to mess things up before I get my second vaccination. I am so close. Last time I layed over in Birmingham they had removed the hair dryer and all the drinking glasses from the hotel room. According to the sign in the room, I wasn’t supposed to have an iron or ironing board either. Thankfully a fellow Skytress or Skyter hoarded these items for me. I’ll be curious to see if I have all these previously removed items in my room this time. Just in case, though, I’m bringing a plastic glass with me. Whew! I’ll be glad when the only extra thing I have to throw in my suitcase are cute layover clothes. I’ll be more glad to take the face masks out of my crew bags. I won’t throw them away though. Whew! I’d never do that. I’m a Skytress. Of course, I’ll put the face masks next to my hoarded paper products in my basement.

Whew! Yes. It has been quite a year for all of us! Like everyone I am very excited to see things returning back to normal. I pray everyone who wants to get a vaccination gets one. Needless to say, I look forward to hanging out with friends and family again. I’m also looking forward to hugging people outside my bubble again. You may not know this, but, Skytresses and Skyters are world class huggers. I’m definitely looking forward to going places without having to wear a face mask. I know I will have to go back to wearing makeup more regularly. I’m okay with this. Heck, I can’t count the number of people who have been deprived of my beautiful smile for months now. It’s a travesty, I know! I am absolutely looking forward to my company making a profit again. Oh, I look forward to all businesses making a profit again. The more the merrier! Mostly, though, I look forward to only being a hoarding Skytress on the airplane. Whew! After a year of hoarding off the airplane…That will be a VERY welcomed change.

Cead Mile Failte…..A Hundred Thousand Welcomes. Yes, welcome to my favorite holiday….St. Patrick’s Day! What can I say? This holiday just makes my Irish eyes smile. And what’s not to like about St. Patrick’s Day? There is corn beef, Irish soda bread, shamrock plants, gold coins and leprechauns. Okay, there is the awful boiled cabbage. But, lucky for me, I don’t cook it or eat it. No, I don’t put up with that shenanigans. If you are officially Irish, you don’t have to. It’s written in The Book of Kells …on page 223. That’s not a bunch of malarkey, either. No,…it’s a bunch of Latin!

Lucky for me, I am Irish on both sides of my family. As some of you may know, my Irish father and my Irish mother met in an Irish bar on St. Patrick’s Day in New York City. The rest, as they say, is Irish history. They got married and presto magic-o they had three lassies and two laddies. Talk about being lucky parents! Of course, my Dad made us drink his Magical Leprechaun Drink every St. Patrick’s Day to ensure we had the luck of the Irish all year long. The Irish can be a wee bit superstitious. Thankfully, the Magical Leprechaun Drink is magically delicious.

Astonishingly, I was the only kid in my school that wore a leprechaun corsage on St. Patrick’s Day. It was a small leprechaun doll that my Dad had the florist surround with green carnations. My Dad was a very clever Irish fellow. Somehow he saw the leprechaun and thought corsage. It did take a big hat pin to keep the corsage on my outfit. But, no one else had anything like it on St. Patrick’s Day. It made my Irish heart smile. Okay, my Mom and sisters also had leprechaun corsages. Obviously, I wore mine best. Thus, my Irish heart smiled a wee bit more than theirs.

My Dad was notorious for hanging our Irish flag outside whenever there was a special occasion. I’m sure he confused many people by flying the flag of Ireland on random days of the year. They, however, we not random to us. No, the flag meant there was someone special coming to visit, there was a birth, there was a wedding, or there was a party about to take place. Oh, how I treasure this flag. It reminds me of so many wonderful times growing up. Mostly, though, it reminds me of my Dad. You can bet, if our house was on fire and I could only take one personal item, I’d surely grab our Irish flag.

My Mom has another Irish tradition. She calls my sisters and me “Mary” followed by our birth name. There is Mary Maureen. Mary Patricia and Mary Eileen. When my brother Sean was being a pill, she would call him Mary Elizabeth. Thankfully, my Mom didn’t follow the Irish tradition to a Tee. Many Irish families actually name all their daughters Mary. Then they use their middle name for their primary name. I know. It’s weird and confusing. Thankfully, my Mom didn’t do this to us girls. We have Irish first names and Irish middle names. There isn’t one Mary in the family. Well, besides my Mom, Mary Ann. Funny, she doesn’t go by Ann, either. No, she is actually Mary Ann. We, however, just call her Mom. I know. It’s weird and confusing. My Dad’s only request when the grandchildren were born was that they have Irish names. Oh,…and that they go to Norte Dame. Well, at least they all have Irish names! We even give our dogs Irish names. We wouldn’t want anyone to think they aren’t part of our crazy Irish family. I know. We Irish can be weird and confusing. It’s what makes us so endearing.

Talk about being a wee bit crazy. Leave it to the Irish to figure out how to make corn beef. Yes. Throw some meat in a pot of boiling water with spices and cook it. That’s it. You don’t even have to watch the pot. I’m not sure if that is actually more genius than crazy. All I know is that it is delicious. Amazingly, I could eat corn beef every day. I do have a few Irish friends that are not fans of corn beef. Scandalous, I know. Thank goodness they are lovable Irish people and we overlook this disturbing fact. Even though cooking corn beef is easy, I sure feel pressure to make it taste delicious when I serve it to non-Irish. Unlike Italians, Germans and basically the rest of the world, the Irish are not known for their Irish recipes. But, if you are Irish you better not mess up the St. Patrick’s Day meal. After all, it’s only one meal the world expects us to know how to cook. Once I got an Irish cookbook to make some Irish cuisine. It was basically a notebook and not a cookbook. I did make some Irish soda bread from the cookbook. Sadly, it turned out harder than the Blarney Stone. My Dad tried to put a lot of butter and jam on it to soften it up. But, it really was inedible. I now buy an Irish soda bread mix that I doctor up a wee bit. I like a sweet Irish soda bread. So, I sprinkle sugar on the top. It still doesn’t taste like my friend Maureen Kelly’s soda bread. Her’s is the best I’ve ever eaten. But, at least now mine is edible without being slathered in Irish butter and jam. Oh, we still put butter and jam on it. Just not to soften it up. After all, we are Irish for goodness sakes.

Thankfully, Ron loved my corn beef and soda bread. He even loved my potatoes and carrots. He didn’t mind that I didn’t cook any cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day. Even though Ron was Swedish, I’m positive he knew about the exemption on page 223 in The Book of Kells. One St. Patrick’s Day Ron and I toasted the day with a wee bit of Irish cheer. I reminded Ron that “Slainte” is Gaelic for “Cheers”. So, we raised our glasses and said, Slainte. I paused briefly before I took my sip to see if Ron liked the Irish whiskey I had poured him. Ron drank his whiskey like he was drinking a glass of water. I stood there wide-eyed and speechless. I was stunned he was basically gulping down the whiskey. Then his face contorted. He coughed and clutched his chest. I could tell the whiskey was burning inside him. I finally found my words and asked him if he was okay. He looked at me and started to laugh. He explained he didn’t think I had poured him whiskey. Silly me. I never told him what was in the glass. I was too busy reminding him about Slainte. He thought I had given him a much sweeter liquor to drink. Sweeter was more my style. We laughed about this St. Patrick’s Day miscommunication all the time. Especially when we would toast each other and say Slainte. Usually, though, we were just drinking club soda and lime. We loved club soda and lime. It wasn’t a fancy drink. But, somewhere along the way it became our drink. Yep. It was our version of the Magical Leprechaun Drink.

I hope you all have your special Magical Leprechaun Drink on St. Patrick’s Day. I hope you have your fill of corn beef and edible Irish soda bread, too. Remember, if someone offers you that awful… awful… awful…boiled cabbage, refer them to page 223 in The Book of Kells. And when you see an Irish flag on Wednesday, I hope you think of my Dad in Heaven. I know I will. I know he and Ron will be watching over me on my favorite holiday. Of course, I will raise a glass of my Dad’s Magical Leprechaun Drink and a glass of Ron and my Magical Leprechaun Drink to them in Heaven. I know my Irish eyes will definitely be smiling as I toast them and say Slainte. Slainte to you,too, my dear friends. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Last week I deleted a story from my “Ice Ice Baby” blog post. It was more about melting snow than ice anyway. But the story got me thinking about something I hadn’t thought about in years. The Country Store in the Cincinnati Airport. The Country Store was located on A Concourse by the Credit Union. A very convenient location if you ask me. There was, also, a store located on the B Concourse near the small crew lounge. Another very convenient location if you ask me. The Country Store had other locations in other airports, such as, Columbus, Ohio and South Bend, Indiana. The employees even dressed in 1930’s country store attire. It was a full country store experience. Sadly, The Country Store is no longer located in these airports. I guess we airline crews didn’t eat enough of The Country Store’s glorious popcorn to keep them in business. Believe me, we definitely tried.

The Country Store was known for it’s delectable freshly-popped popcorn. It was also known for selling an incredibly ginormous bag of popcorn. Yes, some people actually bought the paper lunch-bag size of popcorn every now and then. But, they were usually the exception. I affectionately called them “the samplers”. The rest of the world bought the 24 ounce clear bag of popcorn. As you know, popcorn doesn’t weigh much….so that was A LOT of popcorn! The people that bought the 24 ounce bag were serious connoisseurs of The Country Store popcorn. When I was based in Cincinnati I would bring the big bag of popcorn home to my family in St. Louis. My family fell in love with the popcorn when I was a child. No trip to the airport would be complete without purchasing a big bag of popcorn. I’ll admit, it was cumbersome to carry the popcorn home to St. Louis on the airplane. But, seeing my Dad’s face light up at the sight of the popcorn made it all worthwhile. Needless to say, I chuckled when I saw passengers walking through the airport with their big bag of The Country Store popcorn. I knew their family and friends would be thrilled when they walked through the door, too. The Country Store popcorn had this magical effect on people. I truly believe they sprinkled magic dust, instead of salt, on the kernels while it popped. Our pilots apparently believed in magic. They were notorious for buying the big bag of popcorn and sharing it with the crew. Fortunately, The Country Store kindly provided extra brown paper snack bags for the crew. This way everyone could have their own individual bag of popcorn from the big bag. I know from personal experience crews would shriek with delight whenever the pilots shared their popcorn. Well, at least I did!

The Country Store offered more than the luscious popcorn. It was The Country Store after all! The store sold an assortment of quirky little items. There were dish towels, bottle openers, wind-up chattering teeth, wax candles and a plethora of interesting tchotchkes. In addition, the store sold Mad Libs books, ball and Jacks games, wooden paddle ball games and wooden thumb puppets. Remember the Wooly Willy Original Magnetic Hair Toy? I do. I always played with it when I was in the store. What can I say. I am a child at heart. I loved using the red magic wand to drag the magnetic shavings to create hair, beards and eyebrows on the bald man. Of course, I was partial to The County Store’s wooden airplanes, too. This shouldn’t surprise you. After all….I am in aviation. I was, also, enamored with wooden train whistles. They truly sounded like a train “was a coming” when you blew into them. But, my favorite toy was the wooden spinning tops. I bought many of these to entertain my nieces. I, however, was just as entertained. Yes, The Country Store was a filled with creative toys for kids and kids at heart. Thank goodness I have the heart of a kid.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

What kid doesn’t love candy? Fortunately, The Country Store was well- stocked with an assortment of mouth watering candy. Each little wooden bin held a sweet delight. There were Mary Jane’s, Goetze’s Caramel Creams, Sugar Daddy’s, Candy Button Dots, Candy Necklaces, Lemon Heads, Butter Scotch Candy’s, Jawbreakers, Salt Rock Candy, Rainbow Whirly Lollipops, and a wide variety of flavored stick candy…just to name a few. I could definitely name more. After all, I have the heart of a child that adores candy! Our pilots, also, have the hearts of candy loving children. Our pilots loved buying the Atomic Fireballs. They bought them by the paper sack full. They were always quick to offer the crew these hard candies, too. Everyone made it a personal challenge to suck on the fireballs long enough for the fire to go out. The pilots didn’t take offense when someone spit the candy out long before this point though. They usually laughed when someone gave up on the challenge. Most of us swore to never eat an Atomic Fireball ever again. However, everyone knew the next time an Atomic Fireball was offered again, everyone would accept the challenge once more. We couldn’t help ourselves. Hey, did I mention we have hearts of candy loving children?

• 

• 

• 

• 

The candy most people overlooked were the Necco Wafers. Both the assorted colored Necco Wafers and the chocolate Necco Wafers. I didn’t overlook this candy, though. My boyfriend at the time, Captain Pilot didn’t either. We actually became slightly obsessed with the Necco wafers. Especially, the chocolate Neccos. I bought the colored Necco Wafers one day on a lark. Captain Pilot and I scrutinized each color and flavor. We had our own personal favorites. Then one day Captain Pilot went to buy more Neccos at The Country Store. That day they only had the chocolate flavored Neccos. So, he bought them. And our world changed forever! We couldn’t get enough of them. Every chance we had we ran to The Country Store to buy more. At one point The Country Store completely ran out of the chocolate flavored Neccos. On both concourses! It was devastating for us. At some point in our obsession someone at The Country Store decided to put the Neccos in a basket near the register. Yes, the employees were making it convenient for us to run in and out of the store in between flights to make a quick chocolate Necco purchase. Sadly, it also made it more convenient for us to see the empty basket, as well. Captain Pilot and I would have daily updates on the chocolate Neccos situation. We became brazen in our pursuit of the candy. We no longer did a quick walk-by. No, we purposefully walked into the store to actually inquire about the chocolate Necco supply status. I had to laugh the day I went into The Country Store on the B Concourse. I informed the sales clerk I would love to purchase some chocolate Neccos. But, I could see they were still not in stock. The salesman was shocked another person had come in to the store to specifically purchase the chocolate Neccos. He told me a pilot had just come in a few minutes prior looking for the candy. I confidently told the sales clerk I knew it was my boyfriend. Come on, what were the chances it was someone else addicted to the candy? Of course, later that night Captain Pilot confirmed that he was indeed the chocolate Necco inquiring pilot. We laughed that maybe our Necco addiction was getting out of hand.

The story I was going to write about last week ultimately was more about the chocolate Necco Wafers. And not so much about the weather. Let me explain. I was flying with Captain Pilot one day to South Bend, Indiana. We laughed when we saw we were going to be on the same crew. Yes. We never purposely tried to fly together. It just worked out this way for us every now and then. This particular day big, wet snowflakes started to fall unexpectedly from the sky. It was as if we were in a snow globe and someone had shook it vigorously. Captain Pilot went to inquire about getting de-iced. The unexpected snow caught everyone in Cincinnati off guard. The de-icing crews scrambled to get the trucks in place to de-ice all the departing airplanes. Captain Pilot informed us our flight had been issued a flight delay until we could get de-iced. Unfazed, Captain Pilot told me he was going to head to The Country Store to look for some chocolate Necco Wafers. Minutes later Captain Pilot was back on the airplane to inform me The Country Store was still out of the chocolate Necco Wafers. Captain Pilot may not have brought any Necco Wafers back with him. However, he did bring the blazing sun back with him. The weather outside was now in complete contrast to the earlier snowy conditions. Outside my window sheets of snow were sliding off the airplane wings. Chunks of snow from the airplane roof were sliding past my window. I watched in amazement as the airplane parked next to us shed it’s heavy snow, too. Captain Pilot observed the same thing out the windows as we talked. After a short time had passed, Captain Pilot told me he was going to go outside to check the airplane. From inside the airplane I could see the wings were now completely clear of snow. Captain Pilot came back a few minutes later and informed us we no longer needed to be de-iced. Mother Nature had de-iced us. So, we received our new paperwork, got our passengers boarded and we flew off to South Bend.

When we parked at the gate in South Bend, Captain Pilot deplaned to get our new paperwork and to look around the concourse. A few minutes later he entered the plane holding a brown paper bag. He smiled a sheepish smile and handed it to me. The bag was filled with chocolate Necco Wafers! Neither one of us knew the South Bend airport had The Country Store. Happily, the South Bend passengers were not obsessed with chocolate Necco Wafers like we were. Hip Hip Hooray!We had a new chocolate Necco supply station.

Not long after the South Bend discovery, we were in a drugstore in Dayton. Captain Pilot needed to pick some items up on the way to the house. We conveniently walked down the candy aisle to get to the back of the store. Just by chance I looked down. There I spied not only the colored Necco Wafers, but, I spied the chocolate Necco Wafers, too. I also saw the price of the candy. For the price of one roll of candy at The Country Store, we could get four rolls of candy at the drugstore. We were gobsmacked! The unproductive airport hunt for Necco Wafers at The Country Store was now over. We realized could easily buy our candy at the drugstore for a fraction of the price. Captain Pilot and I no longer bought our Neccos at The Country Store. Ironically, The Country Stores at the airport in Cincinnati closed not long after our drugstore discovery. Now, I cannot confirm our lack of buying the Necco Wafers caused the demise of The Country Store. But, wouldn’t you agree ….it is a peculiar coincidence.

I still buy Necco Wafers every once in awhile. I like to keep some in candy jars in the basement in case someone needs extra energy to play air hockey or pool. Yes, Necco Wafers are readily available to everyone in my house. Sadly, The Country Store popcorn is not. Oh, if I could have jars in my basement filled with The Country Store popcorn,…I’d be in popcorn Heaven. I truly believe if The Country Store were to reappear in airports they would thrive. They would thrive with a new generation of Skytreses, Skyters and pilots that had never tasted the most delectable popcorn ever popped. And quite possibly, another Skytress and her Captain Pilot boyfriend would discover the chocolate Necco Wafers. And just like Captain Pilot and me, they might become obsessed with obtaining them and eating them. Well, they will be obsessed until they discover them at their local drugstore. Then they will sadly discover they, too, have been chocolate Necco price gouged at The Country Store. Oh well, if they are smart, they will always go back for the popcorn.

I had Robert Van Winkle on my flight again the other day. You know, raper Vanilla Ice….. Ice Ice Baby. I have Vanilla Ice on my flight a lot. He lives in West Palm Beach. I happen to work a lot of West Palm Beach flights. I never ask Vanilla Ice about his raping days. Nor, do I ask him about his tv show, “The Vanilla Ice Project”, on the DIY Network. He doesn’t ask me about, “The Rerouted Skytress”, blog either. No, we simply go about our business on the flight. Unfortunately for me, though, the next three weeks I have the song “Ice Ice Baby” swirling around my head. Vanilla Ice is very popular amongst the flight crews. You see, ice is an integral part of our lives. A good bag of ice is golden when you are a Skytress or Skyter. The most knowledgeable Skytresses and Skyters know the best ice in the airline system comes from Little Rock. Yes, by golly. Good Ice Ice Baby! is very serious to us! Oh my, I cannot count the number of times a crew member has broken out in Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” when inquiring about the ice onboard the aircraft. But when you have Robert Van Winkle on your flight, you sing “Ice Ice Baby” ad nauseam. If you are quirky like me your mind starts to wonder as you sing the song. Incredibly, the last time I had Robert Van Winkle on my flight, my mind wandered to the times I had ice ice …baby… on the outside of the aircraft. As Ron jokingly used to say about himself, “I’m referred to as weird at times.” Well, the same can be said about me, too. I guess that’s why we got along so well! Yep, Ice Ice Baby!

Years ago, if a flight went to Syracuse, it also went to Rochester. Or vice versa. It was just a given. This is how our routing system was back in the day. We would group the Syracuse and Rochester passengers together on one airplane. Then we would drop them off like a school bus dropping off students at their homes…one stop at a time. One day there was some weather in the upstate New York area. We were originally scheduled to fly to Rochester first. Then we would fly to Syracuse. Because of the inclement weather in upstate New York, our weight and balance was not ideal for landing on Rochester’s shorter runway. Yes, the weather, the length of the runway and the passenger load was playing havoc with our flight schedule. Eventually, someone much smarter than me figured out how to rectify our situation. It was finally determined if we flew to Syracuse first and let the Syracuse passengers deplane, our weight and balance would be perfect for the conditions in Rochester. Since we had to fly to both cities anyway, no one really cared where we landed first. Everyone was actually more impressed someone had figured out this plan. We all agreed it was much better than cancelling the flights. So, we flew to Syracuse…..Then we flew to Rochester. Amazingly, everything was going according to the new plan. We landed in Rochester and taxied to the gate. Because it was before 9-11, we taxied to the gate with the cockpit door opened. Even though I was sitting in the back of the airplane, I could see the gate lights as we turned into the gate area. Remarkably, I could even see the concourse windows through the cockpit window from my aft jumpseat. I was eagerly anticipating the Captain setting the parking breaks and turning off the seatbelt sign. Then all of a sudden, the airplane made a uncharacteristic wiggle. My first reaction was, “Holy crap! What was that?” No one moved. The passengers were very quiet. Seconds later, the Captain turned the seatbelt sign off. The Skytress that was sitting next to me on the jumpseat said, “That was the weirdest sensation.” Then we broke out in nervous giggles as we went to disarm our doors. We followed the last of the passengers up the aisle. The Captain anticipated our questions. Before we could speak, he informed us we had slid on a patch of ice as we were pulling into the gate. Yep, Ice Ice Baby! I was amazed how easily a heavy aircraft could slide on ice. I told the Captain for a brief moment I wasn’t sure the airplane was going to come to a complete stop. I had visions of us crashing into the concourse windows. The Captain said the tug operator was probably thinking the same thing. The tug operator had been standing on the tug marshaling the aircraft forward with his orange-lighted hand wands. When the airplane started to skid the tug operator jumped off the tug and ran. Yikes, Ice Ice Baby! The Captain said when the plane started to skid he feared the breaks wouldn’t hold. He feared the plane would crash into the tug, or worse. The Captain said the exact thought must have been going through the tug operators mind, too. Fortunately, the airplane didn’t hit the tug and the tug operator was unharmed. Relieved, we all started to laugh at the oddness of the event. The Captain laughed the hardest. He was truly relieved everything turned out okay. He chuckled and said he would forever remember the shocked look on the tug operator’s face as the plane skidded towards him. He said if the tug operator had a lifetime of reoccurring nightmares about an airplane running over him, he would completely understand. Ice Ice Baby!

Icy weather got the best of us one Christmas Eve in Shreveport. We knew it was going to be a long day when the gal at the front desk wondered why we were heading to the airport. All the other crews staying at the hotel had their flights cancelled because of the icy conditions. I was a little perturbed no one had called us. Obviously, we had gotten dressed for no reason. My frustration quickly subsided, though. I was now becoming giddy with the thought of crawling back into bed. As expected, the Captain took control of the situation. He immediately called scheduling. Unfortunately, scheduling hadn’t canceled our flight. No, the company wanted to try to get at least one flight out of Shreveport. Sadly, no one was going back to bed. Instead, we reluctantly climbed into the hotel shuttle. And off to the airport we went. Ice Ice Baby, all the way there.

When we arrived at the airport the gatehouse was filled with passengers from our flight and the other cancelled flights. Apparently, just like scheduling, the passengers were hoping one flight would depart Shreveport that day. Unfortunately, a Christmas miracle would be needed for this to happen. The gate agent accompanied us down the jetway and explained the dilemma we were facing with the weather. Their de-icing equipment was not working. The company had been informed days prior to this situation. However, since Shreveport rarely needs de-icing equipment, it was not deemed a priority fix. I knew immediately that we were in a pickle. Yes. Ice Ice Baby…We were at a standstill. The only hope was for the weather to warm up enough for the ice to melt. So, we stowed our bags on the airplane and we sat down in first class and waited……And waited. Did I mention we waited? The sun refused to come out and the temperature wouldn’t budge. The Captain was becoming agitated with the situation. He inquired about towing the airplane to the aircraft hanger located on the other side of the airport. He surmised a warm hanger would melt the ice. The gate agent explained to the Captain the hanger was a military hanger. We didn’t have the security clearance to use it. Thus, his plan would not be feasible for our situation. Unfortunately, we would have to stay on course with our original plan and wait for the ice to melt. Oh,no! Ice Ice Baby! At this point my fellow Skytresses and I walked up into the gatehouse with drinks and snack from the airplane to serve the waiting Shreveport passengers. The passengers were extremely kind and understanding of the situation. We knew they had Christmas plans. Sadly, their plans were unraveling as the time slowly dragged on. I felt awful there wasn’t anything we could do to rectify the situation. Unfortunately, the Shreveport passengers were hoping for a Christmas miracle that Santa was not willing to deliver. Ugh, Ice Ice Baby.

When I went back inside our airplane I could hear voices coming from our pilot’s cockpit radio. TWA pilots were talking with the Shreveport air traffic controllers. They were in a similar situation with the ice. However, unlike us, they did have de-icing equipment. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the proper type of de-icing fluid for the situation. The TWA pilots asked the air traffic controllers if it was possible to get de-iced at the end of the runway. The type of de-icing fluid they had would require them to be airborne in less than 30 minutes from the time the fluid was first applied to the aircraft. The gentleman in the tower told the TWA pilots their aircraft was the only one that day in a position to take off. So, they approved the plan. In less than 30 minutes TWA was airborne. And we waited. Our Captain was growing frustrated. He wanted to be home for Christmas morning to celebrate with his children. Heck, we all wanted to be home on Christmas. Darn you, Ice Ice Baby!

Hours later our flight was cancelled and we headed back to the hotel. The gal at the front desk was not surprised to see us. She had placed our room keys to the side for our anticipated return. She informed us the hotel restaurant was now open and she was going to comp our meals. Thank you, Ice Ice Baby! In true Skytress form, we ladies changed our clothes and were sitting in the restaurant in a matter of minutes. A pilot from one of the earlier cancelled flights was eating in the restaurant when we arrived. He came over to speak with us. We told him about our eventful, or should I say, uneventful, morning at the airport. He then explained he and the pilots from the other cancelled flights were going to host an impromptu Christmas party later that afternoon. He graciously invited us and our pilots to their Christmas party. We knew our sweet first officer had his fill of the Captain that day. We wanted him to experience some Christmas cheer. So, we called Ray and told him about the party. We told him we weren’t going to invite our grumpy Captain, though. We were thrilled when Ray joined us at the Christmas party. It was at the party we learned about the pilots slip-sliding icy adventure to the grocery store. Yep, Ice Ice Baby! The pilots said they were determined to make it to the store and back to the hotel with some Christmas goodies. They deemed it “The Christmas Challenge”. Luckily for the rest of us, they bought a marvelous assortment of food and Christmas items. The Skytresses from my crew and the other crews were definitely impressed. Needless to say, we all had a festive time hanging out with our airline family members. The next day no one on our crew mentioned the Christmas party to the Captain. It was our Christmas secret. Alas, Ice Ice Baby!..it’s not a secret anymore.

My Dad always said my youngest niece, Megan, was put on Earth to entertain us. On Sunday, February 28th, Megan will celebrate her 21st birthday. For those following along, that means Megan has been our free entertainment for 21 years. Well, I shouldn’t say it’s been free entertainment. We do give her gifts on her birthday, Christmas and on many occasions when we can’t help ourselves. And if Linzer cookies are considered an acceptable form of payment…..well then, I’ve made quite a few deposits into Megan’s entertainment fund. Thankfully for me, Megan loves Linzer cookies! Mostly, though, we are Megan’s best…cheap audience. We do double over in laughter more times than not. That has to count for something, right?

When Megan was a wee little one I used to ask her what her name was. She would animatedly proclaim her name was, “Sassy”. It cracked me up. If she would have said, “Spitfire”, I would have completely agreed with this moniker, too. Miss Sassy loved watching Scooby Doo cartoons when she was little. She would methodically place her chair directly in front of the TV and climb up into it with her much-loved Eeyore in tow. Megan would become so transfixed on the cartoon she would ignore everyone and everything around her. Then, as if she couldn’t quite believe she was actually watching the cartoon, she would turn to whoever was in the room with her and exclaim, “Scobby Doo!” Just as quickly as she proclaimed this, she would turn back to the TV and go back into her Scooby Doo trance. Every once in awhile she would shout out she needed some “Oat-Me-Meal”. I never corrected her on her pronunciation of oatmeal. When Miss Sassy said, “Oat-Me-Meal” my heart would melt from the utter cuteness. To this day, I will tell my crew I am going to have some “Oat-Me Meal”. Shockingly, my crew doesn’t look at me with complete adoration like I did with Miss Sassy. But, I always smile. I flashback to young Megan sitting in her chair with her beloved Eeyore. It’s all I can do to stop my Skytress self from squealing “Scooby Doo!”

Megan always had an innate ability to entertain us. One day when Megan was finally tall enough to reach the light switch, she took great delight in flipping the lights on and off. My Mom and I chuckled as we watched her. Finally, my Mom decided we were encouraging bad behavior. So she said, “Megan. No. No” Without skipping a beat, Megan shook her pointer finger at my Mom and said, “No. No”. With her other hand she continued to flip the lights on and off. My Mom and I started to laugh. Megan laughed, too. Yes. The best entertainers always know how to make their audience laugh. We make Megan laugh when we remind her she used to go behind the living room chair to go potty. Ah, potty training. Megan was not a fan of it when she was a toddler. Megan loved to run and hide behind my parent’s wing back chair in the living room to go potty. We always knew what Megan was doing when she would sneak off. Of course, we would call to Megan and ask if she needed to use the potty. She would refuse to answer. Then she would reappear as if nothing had happened in the living room. It was quite the performance. Not a believable performance. But, a performance nonetheless. Some of Megan’s best dramatization came when she was trying to convince someone into giving her ice cream. Megan would sweetly ask an unsuspecting adult if she could have some vanilla ice cream to eat. Vanilla was her favorite. When she would be denied she would plead her case. She would ultimately petition for just a glob of ice cream. A glob was a big scoop. Not a full cup of ice cream. Why it was barely eating ice cream in Megan’s world. Much to Megan’s chagrin, she rarely won the ice cream debate. It was quite entertaining for the rest of us to see her try, though. These days when we have ice cream, we ask Megan if she would like a glob. Funny enough….It’s become a favorite family expression.

My sister says Megan is just like me. I take this as a wonderful compliment. I think I am fabulous! My sister means Megan has inherited my love of cleaning and organizing. Yep, it’s still a compliment, as far as I am concerned. When Megan was a little girl, she used to put all her stuffed animals in the hallway before she went to bed. She wanted a clean room to go to sleep in. It was quite the nightly ritual. My sister finally told Megan she couldn’t do this. However, she did allow Megan to lay her clothes out to wear the next day. Megan would carefully place each piece of clothing on her bedroom floor. It resembled a body at a crime scene. A little police tape and no one would have questioned whether there had been a crime committed in Megan’s room. Lucky for me, Megan always wants organizational items for her Christmas and birthday gifts. Oh, this warms the cockles of my heart. I try not to the one that always buys her organizational items. But, it makes us both so happy. So I succumb….a lot. Many times when something needs to be cleaned or organized, Megan is called to tackle the job. After my Dad passed away I cleaned out his office file cabinets. Stacks of papers needed to be shredded. It was a daunting task. My Dad loved to make multiple copies of important papers. I didn’t mind going through the files to determine what needed to be shredded. I did discovered, though, I loathe shredding paper. Fortunately, Megan told me she would shred all the files. I still marvel at her persistence in shredding the enormous stacks of papers. I did pay Megan to shred the papers. I didn’t pay her in Linzer cookies, either. No. Real hard cash was exchanged. Two things I love about Megan….she is a hard worker….and she loves money. It’s true. Megan really IS just like me!

You may recall Megan’s sisters were into dance when they were younger. Megan tried dancing. But, she decided early on that dancing was not for her. Well, expect for Wii Nintendo dancing. Megan was exceptional at this type of dancing. Her enthusiasm even got me to bust a move or two. Thankfully, there is no footage of my two moves. Even though Megan excelled at dancing to “Iko Iko” and “Viva Las Vegas”, soccer was her true passion. The kicker….I couldn’t help it…is that Megan was… and I am quite positive… still is, a wonderful soccer player. Megan played soccer for an elite soccer team in St. Louis. She also played on her high school soccer team. She was a captain on the team. At one point Megan played so much soccer I would tease her that she played more than the professional players did. Megan reluctantly gave up soccer several years ago when she went to college. We knew it was a hard decision for her. However, she wanted to concentrate on her college studies. I’m proud to say, Megan also excels when it comes to her education.

Megan is extremely smart. Ah, something else we both have in common. Megan is following in her Mom’s footsteps by studying to become a physical therapist. Megan is a third-year student at St. Louis University. The physical therapy program is a six-year program. This summer Megan will have her gross anatomy classes. I can only imagine the dinner discussions at the Hamill house. I remember dinners at our house when my sister took gross anatomy. Let’s just say it was gross. I will relish the day I get to call Megan, “Dr. Megan”. However, she shouldn’t be surprised if we call her Dr. Meggie-Moo. She is after all, Meggie-Moo to her family. What happened to “Sassy” you ask? Sadly, “Sassy” was just a childhood phase Megan quickly grew out of.

Megan is very creative. This is definitely a common trait of the Hamill sisters. There isn’t a Hobby Lobby or Michael’s that is safe from the likes of Megan and her sisters. Much to my amusement, Megan and her sisters use store items as props for their impromptu videos. Talk about entertaining! Megan’s TikTok posts are just as entertaining. I am amazed with her synchronization and creativity. Megan may get frustrated when her sister Jamie gets over 20,000 views on a TikTok post. But, I gleefully cheer at Megan’s creativity and execution every time she posts something. I admit. I am a fabulous fan and audience.

Megan is not only entertaining. She is also an incredible young woman. She has always volunteered at church with her sisters. She is quick to help those in need. Whether it be a friend or a stranger. Megan was also the catalyst for throwing marvelous birthday parties for my brother up at the high school. Our family will forever be grateful for this. As you can easily tell, Megan embodies love. Megan is a beautiful blessing to us all. My Dad was correct when he said Megan was put on Earth to entertain us. I can only imagine the journey Megan will take in her lifetime. I do know it will be a joyful, happy journey. It couldn’t be anything else. For Megan is the entertainer. Lucky for us, we get to be her audience.

St. Patrick’s Day is my favorite holiday. But, if I have to be honest, Fat Tuesday is my favorite day for celebrating. Ah, yes, Mardi Gras you say. I’m definitely aware of the fact that millions of people love Mardi Gras. Heck, St. Louis has the second largest Mardi Gras celebration in the country. Shockingly, though, I’m not a big fan of Mardi Gras. I am, however, a huge fan of Fat Tuesday. You may be scratching your head thinking Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday are the same thing. Nope. At least not in my book. Yes, Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday. But, this is where the similarities end….at least, for me. Mardi Gras is filled with food, drinks, parades, colorful costumes, flying beads, and lively music. Fat Tuesday is just filled with food. Mardi Gras celebrants say, “Laissez les bond temps rouler”…”Let the good times roll.” Fat Tuesday celebrants say, “Let’s eat!” Okay, let’s!

My family usually starts Fat Tuesday off with Paczkis. Huh? Paczki are Polish doughnuts eaten on Fat Tuesday. My Irish family barely knows how to pronounce Gaelic words. We definitely botch the pronunciation of Paczki. So, we just call them, “the Fat Tuesday” doughnuts. I always buy the strawberry filled and the chocolate Bavarian cream filled Paczkis. Because it’s Fat Tuesday, we must have one of each. Why must we eat one of each? Well, this is our unwritten Fat Tuesday family rule. This rule dates back to the first time we had Paczkis. It was too hard to decide which type of doughnut we wanted to eat. Since it was Fat Tuesday, it was decided everyone should have one of each and not feel guilty about it. Isn’t this the most delightful family rule? There is a downside of eating two Paczkis, though. Once the sugar starts wearing off you definitely need to take a nap. Thankfully, one of my favorite things in life is taking a nap after breakfast. Following the mandatory Paczki nap, I find it necessary to have a wee bit more sugar to have ample energy to get back into the Fat Tuesday eating game. Fortunately, this year we have leftover Valentine’s Day treats. Sweet!

Lunch on Fat Tuesday usually isn’t too set in stone. I find it best to just eat all the junk food around the house. Need I remind you?….It IS Fat Tuesday. Don’t worry. Everyone will eat protein later. I decided long ago it’s best to finish the junk food lunch meal with a few grapes, a banana or pear. It tricks the mind into thinking you have eaten a healthy lunch. I should mention, lunch should not be a quick meal. I repeat….it should not be a quick meal. Fat Tuesday lasts for 24 hours. Thus, a leisurely lunch is only appropriate in the grand scheme of things.

Fat Tuesday dinner usually consists of Gumbo, Jambalaya, or shrimp étouffée. Yes, it’s my homage to Mardi Gras. See, I’m not a complete Mardi Gras heathen. And let’s face it….Creole food is delicious. I do suggest everyone refrain from eating shrimp étouffée with rabbit in it, though. Once on my New Orleans layover I got shrimp étouffée and it had rabbit in it. Unfortunately, I learned with my first bite that I’m not a fan of cooked rabbit. It ruined my étouffée. You can bet, next time I will read the menu more closely. My family can tell you, I love to go with pasta Jambalaya on Fat Tuesday. I take comfort in knowing everyone is eating a heaping dose of protein with the Jambalaya. The chicken, shrimp and andouille sausage are a welcome reprieve from all the sugary Fat Tuesday food. Jambalaya also has a healthy dose of vegetables…..celery, peppers, onion, tomatoes and garlic. If I make the Jambalaya correctly, though, no one will notice the vegetables. No, everyone’s lips will be tingling from the incredible creole spices. Now, I am well aware that Jambalaya is made with rice most of the time. But, I like to make mine with pasta on Fat Tuesday. I don’t want people to get confused and think I am celebrating Mardi Gras. No, my homage to Mardi Gras is just a wee bit of a homage. Again…I celebrate Fat Tuesday and not Mardi Gras. Thankfully, the pasta fills everyone’s belly until it is time for dessert. Hey, it’s Fat Tuesday. We HAVE to eat dessert!

Many people eat King Cake for dessert on Mardi Gras. Thankfully, I celebrate Fat Tuesday. In my humble opinion, the only good things about the King Cake are the icing and the purple, green and gold sugar toppings. The rest of the cake is too dry and tasteless for me. My Fat Tuesday dessert calls for something more special than King Cake. This year I have made the executive decision to make peach cobbler. If you remember from my past blog posts….peach cobbler is my favorite! Plus, I found a new cobbler recipe on Pinterest I’m dying to try. Peach cobbler topped with ice cream will definitely trump the King Cake on my Fat Tuesday.

If you think Fat Tuesday concludes with dessert, you would be sorely mistaken. Fat Tuesday lasts until 11:59pm. There is absolutely more time to eat after dessert. What do we eat? Well, we eat any leftover Paczki, of course. We definitely call it a day after we eat more Paczki, though. Remember, I take a nap after eating Paczkis for breakfast. The day was young then. Eating more Paczki after a day of eating everything on Fat Tuesday, will definitely require at least eight hours of sleep. Obviously, we have to eat the Paczkis before we go to bed. After all, we can’t eat them on Ash Wednesday. At least we can’t in our house. No. We have to fast on Ash Wednesday. Traditionally, the Fat Tuesday celebration ends with a big glass of water. Yes, we need to prep our bellies for all the water we will drink on Ash Wednesday. On Ash Wednesday we are supposed to only drink water until it’s time to eat dinner. If I am being a good Catholic girl I will serve fish for dinner on Ash Wednesday. It will be the first of many fish dinners during Lent. Thankfully, this past Saturday, my sister, brother and I noticed the Catholic Church closest to our house is going to have it’s annual Lenten Friday fish fry. We all were very excited to see the Friday Fish Fry sign. I can personally vouch, the best fish dinners during Lent come straight out of God’s house.

Fat Tuesday is undoubtedly a glorious day of feasting. Unlike Thanksgiving, though, Fat Tuesday is much less organized eating. Everyone can free-form eat on Fat Tuesday. How lucky is this? Very! It’s almost as lucky as St. Patrick’s Day…..again…my favorite holiday. Don’t worry. You will read all about my favorite holiday in a few weeks. Lucky for me and my fellow celebrants….Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday. Let’s eat! Okay, let’s!

My Mom’s two favorite quarterbacks played against each other yesterday in Super Bowl LV. Yes, my Mom is a Tom Brady fan. She realizes she is only one of a handful of Brady fans living outside the New England and Tampa Bay areas. But, she doesn’t mind. She still roots for him. Patrick Mahomes is definitely her favorite of the two quarterbacks. So, we were a unified Kansas City Chiefs family as we watched the Super Bowl. It was a very small party of four this year. My Mom, my brother Brian, my sister Patti and I had our own Covid-19 Super Bowl party. It was a far cry from the Super Bowl parties my family used to host. Nonetheless, I served enough Super Bowl food to satisfy a football stadium filled with Chief fans. We really didn’t miss all the other party goers, though. You know me, I love a good party theme!

You may remember my Dad loved a good party. Throw in the Super Bowl and my Dad was in all his glory. Our friends and neighbors loved a good Super Bowl party, too. Everyone was always excited to come to our house to cheer on their favorite team. My Dad and our family friend, Rick, would set up the Super Bowl betting chart. Amazingly, Rick won most of the betting money after each quarter. I believe Rick was in direct communication with the players on the field. But, I can’t prove anything and Rick won’t divulge any information. I remember the year Coke had their big 3-D commercial during the Super Bowl. Everyone sat in our family room with their 3-D glasses on. Strangely, watching everyone wearing their 3-D glasses to view the commercial was more entertaining than the commercial itself. The same group of family and friends were gathered around the TV for Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl 38 halftime show. Coincidentally, Rick was the only person paying attention to the halftime show at the revealing moment. I swear Rick was in direct communication with Justin Timberlake on the field. I believe Rick was privy to what was about to happen. Again, I can’t prove anything…..and Rick most certainly has never….EXPOSED …..any information.

One year I was laying over in Chicago on Super Bowl Sunday. My friend Tara came to pick me up at our layover hotel and we went to our friend Kal’s house for a party. Tara’s husband was out of town. So the only person we knew at the party was Kal himself. Kal loves all sports….Cubs baseball, Michigan Wolverines football, racing yachts, just to name a few. Kal is, also, a vey down-to-earth person. Thus, many people aren’t aware that Kal is quite the intellectual. Tara and I are definitely down-to-earth and intelligent women. However, the group of friends Kal had invited to his party were down-to-earth uber intellectuals. They could talk circles around me on a plethora of subjects. Football, however, was not a subject they knew much about. Tara and I giggled under our breaths as we listened to Kal’s friends trying to figure out the complexities of the game. It was, without a doubt, the most unusual Super Bowl party I ever attended. In spite of this, I throughly enjoyed myself. I can’t remember who won the game…or even what teams played in the Super Bowl that year. I do remember I made Paula Deen’s lemon blossoms and brought them to the party. As you know, I adore Super Bowl food. The lemon glazed mini-muffins weren’t actually Super Bowl style food. But, since Kal’s friends weren’t actually football fans, I guess it was an appropriate Super Bowl dessert. Plus, they were yummy tum-tum delicious.

When I lived in Atlanta my St. Louis Rams came to town to play in the Super Bowl. Lucky for me, my friend Shannon had a Super Bowl party. I was beyond excited to watch my Rams play the Tennessee Titans. Thankfully for me, my friends were also rooting for the Rams. We faithfully watched each play. We cheered whenever the Rams completed a pass or made a timely tackle. We celebrated each time they scored. It was thrilling. My Rams looked like they were going to easily win the game. But, no!!! The Titans fought hard in the fourth quarter and tied the game with two minutes left. I was extremely nervous for my Rams. Then without a warming Shannon’s cable went out. We were stunned. No one moved. We waited for the TV to pop back on. Nope. It didn’t happen. There was a little freezing rain in Atlanta that day. Yes. Hot Atlanta was anything but hot. There wasn’t enough time for me to drive home to catch the end of the game. I was beside myself. It’s not every day your team plays in the Super Bowl. I called my parents to get an update on the game. They couldn’t believe we were missing it. My family tried to relay what was happening on the field. Their play-by-play was awful because the game was too exciting. All I could hear was their exuberant cheering and passionate screaming. It was futile to even try to explain to my friends what was happening in the game. Shannon eventually thought to turned the radio on in the kitchen. We all stood around the radio and listened to the game. The radio announcers we ecstatic. The Rams quarterback, Kurt Warner, threw a 73- yard touchdown pass to regain the lead. The Titans refused to quit. They drove the ball to the Rams 10-yard line with six seconds left in the game. Miraculously, the Rams stopped the Titans on the one-yard line and the game was over. It took a few seconds for Shannon and I too comprehend what had happened. Holy Moly…..The Rams won the Super Bowl! Shannon and I were elated! It was ABSOLUTELY the best Super Bowl I never actually watched.

I distinctly remember the last Super Bowl I caught on a layover. I flew with Ron and his friend Tim. Ron and Tim were junior to me in in-flight. The boys knew perfectly well they would have to fly Super Bowl Sunday. So, they looked for a trip that would get them to a layover in time to catch the game. Remarkably, another position on their trip opened up. Ron asked me if I would like to fly with them. I thought it would be a blast. So, I quickly swapped on to the trip. I was the only Skytress among three Skyters. Our Skyter In-Charge also swapped on to the trip. His original trip he was to fly with a Skytress named Ting Ting. Incredulously, he didn’t feel he could call a grown woman Ting Ting for three days. Ron, Tim and I couldn’t understand this rationale since Ting Ting really was her name. Therefore, without skipping a beat, I jokingly started calling him Ting Ting. Ron and Tim followed my lead. We casually mentioned to our pilots our Skyter In-Charge name was Ting Ting. You cannot imagine our glee when our Captain came back into the cabin to brief our Skyter In-Charge before the passengers boarded. The Captain turned to our Skyter In-Charge and innocently asked, “Ting Ting are you ready to brief?” The three of us doubled over laughing.

Ron, Tim, Ting Ting and I decided we would go to a bar to watch the Super Bowl game. The first establishment we went to was overflowing with people. We decided we would mosey on to the next place. We discovered a New Orlean themed restaurant-bar a few blocks away. We knew people in New Orleans like to party. Thus, we determined this place would be an ideal spot to catch the football game. The restaurant had an additional bar area set up in the back for watching the Super Bowl. There weren’t too many people sitting in this back section. Apparently, people in San Antonio don’t hang out in New Orleans themed restaurants. This was okay for us. We wanted to catch the game and still be able to talk with each other. Ron, Ting Ting and I were rooting for the Seattle Seahawks. Tim was rooting for whatever team was going to win him money at the end of each quarter. Tim was making out like a bandit. He was very pleased. Ron, Ting Ting and I were happy because it looked like the Seahawks were going to beat the Patriots with a game ending touchdown. But, no. It didn’t happen. Seattle lost the game in the final seconds. Yes, the Seahawks were about to score with 26 seconds left in the game. They were on the 1-yard line when Russell Wilson threw the football and it was intercepted by the Patriots. The game was over. Ting Ting was devastated. The majority of the people in the restaurant were pulling for the Seahawks. Disappointment hung in the air. Ron and I took it all in stride. Thankfully, neither team was really our favorite. We simply liked the Seahawks a wee bit more than the Patriots. I remember it was a strikingly cold evening as we walked back to the hotel. Tim had a lot of energy. He walked enthusiastically ahead of us. I’m sure his quick pace was fueled by his multiple betting wins. Ting Ting was upset and walked back to the hotel in utter frustration. Ron and I followed behind laughing at Tim and Ting Ting scurrying back to the hotel. The next day Ting Ting was still upset about the ending to the game. He would get furious at the mention of the interception. Ron and I laughed about it for days. For months afterwards, Ron would bring up Ting Ting’s name and wonder if he was still upset about the Seahawks losing the Super Bowl.

This year I wondered which team Ting Ting was rooting for…..my Chiefs or Tom Brady’s Buccaneers. Well, My Chiefs lost the Super Bowl. I was sad for them. Although my Mom was rooting for the Chiefs, her second favorite quarterback won. I guess Mom really couldn’t lose this year. This Super Bowl the commercials were better than I expected. I was pleasantly surprised. The halftime show was a wee bit different. But, hey, I usually feel this way after watching it. Will I remember the score in a week or two? Probably not. I probably won’t even remember what teams played in the game six months from now. I will remember the food I served, though. I don’t want to serve the same thing next year when I watch the Super Bowl. That would be an ugly loss in my book.