The Rerouted Skytress

INAUGURAL FLIGHT

What is a Skytress?

I’ve been called a lot of things in my life. Only once was I called a Skytress.

It all happened on my layover in Jacksonville after checking into the hotel. My fellow flight attendant and I decided to go to the gas station next to the hotel to get dinner. Ah, the glamorous part of my job no one tells you about. Anyhow, we walked through the parking lot and went through the bushes on a dirt path clearly made by fellow airline crew going off for a hearty meal. Before we knew it, we were standing in the Subway Sandwich line inside the gas station.

As we approached the sandwich area, there was a customer being waited on. The gentleman behind the counter was busily making his sandwich. As we waited, I slipped into deep contemplation. “What type of bread should I get? What type of Sun Chips goes best with a Veggie Delight?”. The cheery man behind the counter shouted out to us, “Are you ladies Skytresses?”. I looked at my fellow flight attendant. She looked back at me just as confused. In my sweetest flight attendant voice I said, “Excuse me?”. To which the gentleman asked again, “Are you ladies Skytresses?”. There was another awkward pause as we all looked at each other. The man innocently asked a third time, “Aren’t you ladies Skytresses? You know, waitresses in the sky”. Now I’ve been called a flight attendant, a stewardess and even a trolley dolly. Never had I been called a Skytress. I loved it!

I couldn’t get back on that dusty trail and go through those bushes back to my hotel room fast enough. “I’m a Skytress” swirled through my head. I was giddy. I felt like a super hero. Instead of a cape, I had wings. I called my boyfriend Ron and told him the whole story. He laughed. He laughed even harder when I pointed out to him that he was a Skyter. A waiter in the sky.

The Blog Gets It’s Wings

As you may know, there are some books written about flight attendants and their careers. They are usually written by flight attendants. And the truth be told, they are mostly read by flight attendants, too. At some point in our careers flight attendants talk about these books. These conversations usually lead to what stories we would tell if we were to write a book. And we always discuss what we would call our books. My favorite book title came from a fellow flight attendant in Cincinnati. He was going to write a book and call it “How I survived 40 Years of Menopause “. I still chuckle when I think about this.

Although I love to write, I knew I could never write a book. Between flying, commuting, and trying to whittle down my list of things to do, I’d never have the time. But, I always thought I could write a blog. Yes, a blog would be doable. I knew I would call my blog “The Rerouted Skytress “. One day I told my Skyter boyfriend about my idea. He encouraged me to start the blog. Thus, many nights on my layovers I would lie in bed trying to sleep and ideas would pop into my head. When this would happen I’d always flip the lights on and write my ideas down on the hotel notepads. After many layovers I collected a lot of little notepad papers. I’d always place them in the extra pocket of my suitcase. My blog was getting wings. I was so happy.

The Worst Reroute

On July 30, 2018, I got one of the worst reroutes of my life. It didn’t come from Crew Scheduling. It came from God himself. He took my beautiful Skyter Ron’s airline wings and exchanged them for his angel wings. He was two days away from turning 51. Ron was now flying with the angels using his new Heavenly wings. I was left here on Earth with just my Skytress wings. Ron and my future together was canceled. Flight cancellations are bad. Life cancellations are awful awful awful.

Departure Time

It has taken me a long time to want to start a blog again. However, the past few months I have been receiving angel signs from my handsome Skyter. Every morning and every night I looked at my Skyter’s pictures on my dresser and wondered what he was trying to tell me. Then God gave us all a reroute. COVID-19. We had to self-quarantine. I saw friends and family thinking outside the box to stay connected. They had to be creative to feed their souls under quarantine. I did too. All my angel signs were making sense now. I knew without a doubt it was time for me to start my blog.

Crew Assistance

I asked my nieces if they knew anything about starting a blog. My one niece suggested I check out YouTube. I knew then starting a blog was considered old school. Now I feel like I am back at initial flight attendant training. However, instead of learning to deploy a raft in a ditching, I’m learning how to get these words on my actual blog. Getting my pictures on the blog is definitely going to take a crew effort.

Taking Flight

So this is my inaugural flight of The Rerouted Skytress blog. I don’t know if anyone else will join me on my blog. I’m okay with this possibility. A ferry flight- a flight with no passengers- is still a flight. Thus, a blog with no readers is still a blog.

Yes, there will be more blogs to come. My topics will be as diverse as the trips I have flown these past 30 years. It will be an adventure for sure. This blog is taking flight. As the note my beloved Skyter gave me says, …”Let’s have a great trip”. I couldn’t agree more.