What’s behind those wings?

I haven’t written lately because September, October and November thus far have been slow, slow, and slower. A lot of time spent sitting hot reserve at the airport and not a lot of time flying. Although that limits the inspiration for passenger stories, I decided that it would be a good time to reflect on some of the other great flight attendants I work with. I keep being reminded that you can’t judge a person by their uniform and am always surprised by some of the other things people do.

I flew with someone who plays tennis at a very high level and spends much of his free time playing tennis in Europe. He also had a picture to prove the story of the time he met Regis Philbin on a flight and went fishing with him.

A woman I worked with had just graduated with a degree in the field of law that she had been working towards in addition to her job as a flight attendant.

Someone works as an oncology nurse for half the week, and as a flight attendant for the other.

A woman was also an EMT. It is always very comforting to know that someone with that skill set is working the flight.

When she wasn’t flying, someone was working toward becoming a counselor and was planning to have her own private practice.

At this point I would like to give a personal shoutout to Justin Lane who informed me once that he always reads the first few sentences of my blog entries. You’re the best Justin!

I work with a woman who keeps up working at the restaurant and bar owned by her family when she isn’t flying.

A woman at my airline has a PhD, has been a principal as well as superintendent of a school district, and earlier in life had lived in Europe for several years working for a major international airline.

Someone who was in my training class had been a New York City police officer for many years.

Countless flight attendants I work with at my regional have previously worked for major commercial or charter airlines, been around the world and back, and have dealt with almost every situation imaginable in the air.

Then there are the countless who have stories that match mine. We’ve always wanted to fly and right now we’re finally living the adventure.

Ask a flight attendant what story lies behind their wings, and sometimes you’re in for a surprise.