The Rerouted Skytress

I was preparing to work a flight to Tampa one afternoon. I was placing water bottles at the passenger’s seats in first class before we boarded the plane. The Captain walked into first class from the 2-left boarding door. He wanted to know if he could ask a favor of me. He told me retired Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, was going to be on our flight. He asked me if I would invite Mrs. O’Connor to the cockpit when she arrived. He explained the first officer’s wife, Eileen Collins, was the first female commander of the Space Shuttle. The first office told the Captain he would love to get a picture with Mrs. O’Connor,….the first female Supreme Court Justice….but, he didn’t want to disturb her. My thoughts went in several directions when the Captain asked this request. I knew I had flown with the first officer before. It dawned on me, when we flew previously, we had talked about his wife….because his wife and I have the same first name. At the time, it also came up in conversation, in a very nonchalant way, that his wife was the first female commander of the Space Shuttle. I was completely amazed by his reverence when he spoke about his wife. He was extremely proud of his wife and her accomplishments. I had a thousand questions I wanted to ask him about his wife. I told him I had great admiration for her achievements in her career. I, also, expressed how exhilarating it must have been to fly in space. However, I figured he always talks about his wife when people find out who she is. I didn’t want to do that. Instead, I turned the conversation back to him. He was such a wonderful, laid back guy. He had a great sense of humor. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with him. When the Captain said first officer Pat didn’t want to bother Mrs. O’Connor, I completely understood. The other thought going through my mind was how excited I was to have Sandra Day O’Connor on our flight. You may remember from a previous post how I once wanted to be a Supreme Court Justice. I also thought about Mrs. O’Connor’s husband. Prior to his death, he had Alzheimer’s disease. While he was in the later stages of his disease, he befriended a woman at his facility. He and the woman, who also had Alzheimer’s, would hold hands. A reporter asked Mrs. O’Connor if the hand holding bothered her. Mrs. O’Connor said she was glad to see her husband showing affection again. The disease had once stole this from him. She knew, because of the disease, he didn’t understand what he was doing. She knew her husband would never do anything to hurt her. Her response amazed me. My respect for Mrs. O’Connor grew exponentially with her judicious understanding.

Mrs. O’Connor came on board and settled in her seat. I quietly addressed her. I explained the Captain would like for her to visit the cockpit ……if she didn’t mind. She didn’t. She sweetly followed me to the cockpit. I introduced her to the Captain and left. I admit, I stood within ear shot of their conversation. I thought how lovely it would be to sit down with Mrs. O’Connor and talk about her life. I knew it would be positively fascinating. The Captain introduced Mrs. O’Connor to first officer Pat. The Captain explained Pat’s wife was the first female commander of the Space Shuttle. Mrs. O’Connor’s voice lit up. They talked about his wife. She then inquired about the pilots and their flying. Finally, the Captain asked Mrs. O’Connor if she would mind taking a picture. She said she would love too. I smiled as I stood outside the cockpit. I knew the first-class passengers recognized Mrs. O’Connor as she came back to her seat. They were extremely considerate. They didn’t disturb her once during the flight. When we arrived in Tampa and we started to deplane, a gentleman asked Mrs. O’Connor how she was enjoying her retirement. She sweetly told him she was as busy as ever. She smiled and said she didn’t feel one bit retired. I was completely captivated by Mrs. O’Connor. Later when I was thinking about the flight, I kicked myself. I wish I had asked Mrs. O’Connor if I could get a picture with her. I know she would have graciously agreed. Oh well. You know me and pictures. At least I have a beautiful memory to cherish forever.

Eileen Collins is an exceptional pilot, as far as I am concerned. I would still believe this even if her name wasn’t Eileen. But, it does make me smile a wee bit more knowing she is an “Eileen”, too. I love seeing female pilots at our airline. I always think “Girl Power” when I see a female pilot in the cockpit. I am proud to say I fly with more female pilots every year. Most of our female pilots are first officers. I know it is just a matter of time before they become Captains and move to the left seat. I am elated when I fly with female Captains. I admire everything they have gone through to earn their Captain’s wings. They have my utmost respect for being a pilot in a predominantly male profession. I learned throughout my career, female pilots have an incredible cool factor to them. First they have the incredible knowledge and finesse to fly a commercial aircraft…..many soft touch downs come at the hands of female pilots. Secondly, I’ve learned, female pilots possess an impeccable sense of humor. It’s not gritty guy pilot humor I’ve become accustomed to hearing, either. After months of blog posts, you all undoubtedly know I love my airline. I’m blessed to work with extraordinary fellow employees. I may be biased, but, I believe we have the best crew’s in the industry. I’m extremely proud when we stand together as a crew. However, on the several occasions when I have flown with an all- female crew, I know I stood a little taller. I smiled a little bigger. I saw the shocked looks on the passengers faces as we walked down the concourse and got in and out of the hotel shuttles. I always wanted to say, “Yes. You are seeing correctly. We are an all-female crew.” I look forward to flying many more all-female crew trips in the near future. It will be girl power at it’s finest.

There is the saying that one person can change the world. Alice Ramsey exemplifies this statement. Alice retired this August from being a Skytress at our airline. However, like Sandra Day O’Connor, I know Alice will be as busy in retirement, as she ever was flying. Alice Ramsey is a breast cancer survivor. In 2007 she asked our CEO if she could get a pink uniform dress made to help raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Our CEO agreed. Alice raised $3000. The next year 275 pink dresses were made available for Skytresses to wear in October. They sold out immediately. Eventually, more Skytress had the opportunity to purchase the pink dress. Skyters could purchase a pink tie to wear with their uniforms. October has become very pink at our airline. Several years ago, I started to notice other airlines wearing pink uniform pieces, as well. It made me smile. I think they were inspired by our airline. Unquestionably, we were all inspired by Alice. As I mentioned, Alice raised $3000 her first year wearing her pink dress. Since our airline started to raise money for the Foundation, it has raised over 16.8 million dollars. I know Alice’s pink dress helped propel the numbers exponentially upwards. I heard so many lovely stories about Alice from fellow Skytresses and Skyters. I hoped one day to have the pleasure of meeting her. Well, dream a little dream, I did. One day I went to my annual FAA training in Atlanta. As I sat at my table, I wondered if I would know anyone in my class. Low and behold I noticed Alice Ramsey was in my class. It was as if Elvis had entered the building. I watched Alice interact with everyone. She was vivacious and extremely kind. Her laughter was infectious. I remember Alice asked a friend in our class if she would like to come to a luncheon with her and her mother. Alice was to receive an award from the Governor and she didn’t want her Mom to sit alone. Alice’s friend teased her about having lunch with the Governor. “Only Alice”, she said. We all laughed. Including Alice. But, we knew Alice deserved to have lunch with the Governor. More importantly, we all knew it was actually going to be his honor to have lunch with her. Alice is not only a survivor,….she is the biggest cheerleader for everyone she encounters. I later told Alice how I admired everything she has done at our airline. She is a warrior for those fighting cancer and those who are survivors. Alice could not have been more gracious. She told me her story. She also gave me a packet that contained a rubber piece of material and a little nodule. Alice gives this out so people will know what she felt when she discovered her breast cancer. I could tell this is Alice’s mission in life….To make sure everyone has the gift of early detection. Alice is determined to beat cancer on multiple fronts. The next day in training Alice came in with a gift for everyone. She said she knew everyone was feeling stressed with the rigors of annual training. She wanted to bring everyone some luck. I was touched by her thoughtfulness. I also learned that day, Alice has an annual breast cancer fund raiser at her house. The money raised helps pay bills for those going through treatment. She has multiple giveaways at her fund raiser, too. People donate items because they love Alice and her cause. Alice, I learned, is the ultimate caretaker. This is why I know Alice is busy as ever in her retirement from our airline. I never had the pleasure of flying with Alice. I can only imagine she took great care of our passengers and her crew. I am so grateful I did meet Alice. I learned a lot from Alice in our short two days. Ultimately I learned Alice is girl power personified.