Sunrise in the TWIN CITIES...

         

I took these from my hotel room after a very short overnight in Minneapolis. 

 

Click on the thumbnail of each image, to take a closer look.

Colorado Springs at sunset...

Now that I have my new phone/camera/mp3 player, I thought that I could share some of the things that I see when I am on the road!

 

 

 

I took this picture in the parking lot at the Colorado Springs airport, while we waited for our hotel van to pick us up...

Heather's Flying Circus...

 

School’s out, summer is here and it’s only just begun…

     

 

 

It’s that time of year again…  SUMMER!  The time for once in a lifetime vacations and trips to see grandma.  Everyone and their screaming kids seem to come out of the woodwork to fly on airplanes.  Here are some of my favorites from my hall of shame.

 

Getting ready to go to Columbus, OH, I was walking up the isle closing overheadbins, and in the first overhead bin there was someone’s bag stuffed right in front of some of my emergency equipment. I pulled it out, and asked the frat boys, who were sitting in the front of the airplane, whose it was.  They claimed the bag, so I asked them to PLEASE move it, because it was blocking emergency equipment. 

 

When I go to walk away, they yell, “Thanks for being so friendly!!”  I stopped dead in my tracks, and turned around and went back to were they were sitting. 

 

I turned to them, and in my best bimbo, valley girl, voice I said, “Like OMIGOD, I am like SOOOOOOO sorry!  It’s like my job to be here for you SAFETY, not like to pamper your preadolescent ego, like OKAY?”

 

They just stared at me, with mouths wide open, speechless.  Mind you I had been in Cleveland a total of nine hours the night before, and I wasn’t about to take crap from some nineteen year old.

 

Coming back from Columbus, I had this mother and her two young children, both under the age of two traveling alone.  She was really overwhelmed and had requested assistance when she got to Chicago.  Another passenger had volunteered to help her on and off the plane with her, her kids and her car seat, but she needed help to her next flight which was with another airline. 

 

Come to find out, when we got to Chicago, the only assistance available is wheelchair assistance.  There was no one available to help her carry her car seat to her next gate for her.  Upon learning this from the gate agents, she screams, “WELL…  THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP  I’M NEVER FLYING THIS AIRLINE AGAIN!!!!!”  She then throws the car seat on top of her stroller, almost hitting her child in the head, and takes off, all the while refusing the offer of help from the other passenger who offered to help her.

 

What I want to know is, if she can’t handle a simple task, like getting fromone gate to another with her children, how does she get day to day things done, like grocery shopping, ect?   Maybe some of you mothers might like to enlighten me on this?

 

So you want to be a flight attendant

Here's an e-mail that I recieved from a girl who wants to be a flight attendant.

 

 

 

Thank you so much! More like, what kind of questions will they ask. Is it as bad as they say it is, as in "it's like a cattle call"? I think that fact has me more nervous then anything, I know I can't be over the top but being quite and researved sure wont help. Lol Just those basic type of things that could help me get through.

 

Thank you so much : )

 

Brandi

 

 

 

Yes it is like a big cattle call, more like a beauty pageant.  It's been awhile since I have been to an interview.

 

Here's a little fact:  In a typical year 100,000 people will apply to be a flight attendant to just ONE major airline.  Of those 100,000 resumes received 15,000 will be given an interview.  Of those 15,000 interviewed, only about 3,000 will be hired.  That's only 3%.

 

Being reserved or shy won't help you get a job as a flight attendant.  This much I know.  Airlines are looking for people who are outgoing, and who will be able to handle themselves in an emergency situation. 

 

Think about it this way, the people conducting your interview are interviewing thousands of people, and YOU need to make yourself stand out from the other faces in the crowd. 

 

The first question that they will ask you is to stand up and "tell us about yourself."  Having good public speaking skills is a must in this business. because well, hello all of those PA's that we have to give.

 

Here are some key points that you want to cover:

Name

Place of residence

Current employment

Skills that you have that will make YOU a good flight attendant

(IE foreign languages that you speak)

Why you want to be a flight attendant

 

Some common questions asked at an interview:

Are you willing to relocate?  (the only answer is YES)

Why do you want to be a flight attendant?

What do you like about your job?

What don't you like about your job?

How do you handle a co-worker that you may not get along with?

Have you ever had to deal with an angry customer?

 

Those are just some questions to give you an idea about the flight attendant interview process.  If you go to Amazon.com there are several books about how to interview to be a flight attendant.  That's what I did, and the books that I got helped me to interview better.

"United 93"

The flags that once flew, as a display of our pride as a Nation, have all but disapeared.  It's been less than five years since that day, and I think that we as Americans need a wake-up call.

 

There has been alot of talk in the media lately about the movie that immortilizes the last moments of the fourth hyjacked plane on September 11, 2001.  People have stated that they don't want to be reminded of that tragic day.  Some think that it's too soon.  I feel that most Americans have already forgotten, and have slipped back into the same habits that they had on September 10, 2001.  It's only been five years, and our Nation's selfish and self-serving attitudes are worse than they were before the attacks.

Everytime that I walk on an airplane, I am reminded of that day.  Reinforced cockpit doors, having to take my shoes off to go through security, and many other things that have changed my life forever.  I can't forget about 9-11, and the rest of the Nation shouldn't just sweep it under the carpet.  Refusing to see the movie United 93 will not change the brutality and distruction of that really happened.  This is a part of American history, that needs to be remembered.

The men and women on board United 93 sacrificed their lives, to keep another plane from killing even more people.  What if the terrorists whould have succeeded?  There is no telling just how much more devistation there would have been.

I am planning on seeing United 93 this weekend.  I know that I will need to bring a box of tissues with me.  But it comes down to the fact that my Union brothers and sisters were brutally murdered that day, and I owe it to them to hear their story.

What do the rest of you think?

A Letter From An American Airlines Pilot

A Letter From An American Airlines Pilot

This is the same question that many of us have been asking for the past several years....this well spoken man says what is on his heart beautifully....read, absorb and pass on....it's time to get answers from those who claim their terrorist members do not represent them..why are their leaders not LOUDLY AND FIERCELY AND CONTINUOUSLY condemning their visible murderous brethren.
By American Airlines Pilot - Captain John Maniscalco

"I've been trying to say this since 9-11 but you worry me. I wish you didn't. I wish when I walked down the streets of this country that I love, that your color and culture still blended with the beautiful human landscape we enjoy in this country. But you don't blend in anymore. I notice you, and it worries me. I notice you because I can't help it anymore. People from your homelands, professing to be Muslims, have been attacking and killing my fellow citizens and our friends for more than 20 years now. I don't fully understand their grievances and hate but I know that nothing can justify the inhumanity of their attacks.

On September 11, nineteen ARAB-MUSLIMS hijacked four jetliners in my country. They cut the throats of women in front of children and brutally stabbed to death others. They took control of those planes and crashed them into buildings killing thousands of proud fathers, loving sons, wise grandparents, elegant daughters, best friends, favorite coaches, fearless public servants, and children's mothers. The Palestinians Celebrated, The Iraqis were overjoyed as was most of the Arab world.

So I notice you now. I don't want to be worried. I don't want to be consumed by the same rage and hate and prejudice that has destroyed the soul of these terrorists. But I need your help. As a rational American, trying to protect my country and family in an irrational and unsafe world, I must know how to tell the difference between you, and the Arab/Muslim terrorist.

How do I differentiate between the true Arab/Muslim-Americans and the Arab/Muslims in our communities who are attending our schools, enjoying our parks, and living in OUR communities under the protection of OUR constitution, while they plot the next attack that will slaughter these same good neighbors and children? The events of September 11th changed the answer. It is not my responsibility to determine which of you embraces our great country, with ALL of its religions, with ALL of its different citizens, with all of its faults. It is time for every Arab/Muslim in this country to determine it for me.

I want to know, I demand to know, and I have a right to know whether or not you love America. Do you pledge allegiance to its flag? Do you proudly display it in front of your house, or on your car?
Do you pray in your many daily prayers that Allah will bless this nation, that He will protect and prosper it? Or do you pray that Allah with destroy it in one of your "Jihads"? Are you thankful for the freedom that only this nation affords? A freedom that was paid for by the blood of hundreds of thousands of patriots who gave their lives for this country? Are you willing to preserve this freedom by paying the ultimate sacrifice? Do you love America? If this is your commitment, then I need YOU to start letting ME know about it.

Your Muslim leaders in this nation should be flooding the media at this time with hard facts on your faith, and what hard actions you are taking as a community and as a religion to protect the United States of America Please, no more benign overtures of regret for the death of the innocent because I worry about who you regard as innocent. No more benign overtures of condemnation for the unprovoked attacks because I worry about what is unprovoked to you. I am not interested in any more sympathy...I am only interested in action. What will you do for America - our great country -- at this time of crisis, at this time of war?

I want to see Arab-Muslims waving the AMERICAN flag in the streets. I want to hear you chanting "Allah Bless America ." I want to see young Arab/Muslim men enlisting in the military. I want to see a commitment of money, time, and emotion to the victims of this butchering and to this nation as a whole. The FBI has a list of over 400 people they want to talk to regarding the WTC attack. Many of these people live and socialize in Muslim communities. You know them You know where they are.

Hand them over to us, now! But I have seen little even approaching this sort of action. Instead I have seen an already closed and secretive community close even tighter. You have disappeared from the streets. You have posted armed security guards at your facilities. You have threatened lawsuits. You have screamed for protection from reprisals.

The very few Arab/Muslim representatives that HAVE appeared in the media were defensive and equivocating. They seemed more concerned with making sure that the United States proves who was responsible before taking action. They seemed more concerned with protecting their fellow Muslims from violence directed towards them in the United States and abroad than they did with supporting our country and denouncing "leaders" like Khadafi, Hussein, Farrakhan, and Arafat. If the true teachings of Islam proclaim tolerance and peace and love for all people then I want chapter and verse from the Koran and statements from popular Muslim leaders to back it up. What good is it if the teachings in the Koran are good and pure and true when your "leaders" are teaching fanatical interpretations, terrorism, and intolerance?

It matters little how good Islam SHOULD BE if large numbers of the world's Muslims interpret the teachings of Mohammed incorrectly and adhere to a degenerative form of the religion. A form that has been demonstrated to us over and over again. A form whose structure is built upon a foundation of violence, death, and suicide. A form whose members are recruited from the prisons around the world. A form whose members (some as young as five years old) are seen day after day, week in and week out, year after year, marching in the streets around the world, burning effigies of our presidents, burning the American flag, shooting weapons into the air. A form whose members convert from a peaceful religion, only to take up arms against the great United States of America, the country of their birth. A form whose rules are so twisted, that their traveling members refuse to show their faces at airport security checkpoints, in the name of Islam.

Do you and your fellow Muslims hate us because our women proudly show their faces in public rather than cover up like a shameful whore? Do you and your fellow Muslims hate us because we drink wine with dinner, or celebrate Christmas? Do you and you fellow Muslims hate us because we have befriended Israel, the ONLY civilized democratic nation in the entire Middle East?

And if you and your fellow Muslims hate us, then why in the world are you even here? Are you here to take our money? Are you here to undermine our peace and stability? Are you here to destroy us? If so, I want you to leave I want you to go back to your desert sandpit where women are treated like rats and dogs. I want you to take your religion, your friends, and your family back to your Islamic extremists, and STAY THERE! We will NEVER give in to your influence, your retarded mentality, your twisted, violent, intolerant religion. We will NEVER allow the attacks of September 11, or any others for that matter, to take away that which is so precious to us: Our rights under the greatest constitution in the world. I want to know where every Arab/ Muslim in this country stands and I think it is my right and the right of every true citizen of this country to demand it. A right paid for by the blood of thousands of my brothers and sisters who died protecting the very constitution that is protecting you and your family. I am pleading with you to let me know. I want you here as my brother, my neighbor, my friend, as a fellow American. But there can be no gray areas or ambivalence regarding your allegiance and it is up to YOU, to show ME, where YOU stand." "Until then .. you worry me" ""
**********************************************

LET'S COVER THE COUNTRY WITH THIS ONE!

 

 

In print?

I have been doing some contimplating lately about putting my essays to hard copy.  Putting my best blog entries along with some never before posted ones, I wonder if there would be a market out there for my silly stories. 

 

 

Any feed back good or bad?

THIS JUST in!!!!!!

Airline Jobs, National Security at Risk by Bush Plan Allowing Foreign Control of U.S. Airlines

AFL-CIO Transportation Leader Testifies at House Hearing

Washington, D.C... The Bush administration's controversial plan to allow foreign control of U.S. airlines "weakens the aviation industry at the worst possible time," threatens national security, and violates existing law, Edward Wytkind, President of the AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department (TTD) said today.

Testifying before the House Aviation Subcommittee, Wytkind said that the proposed regulatory changes would "inspire even more outsourcing of vital airline functions to the detriment of safety, security, and jobs." Despite the clear intent of a 2003 law to tighten oversight of maintenance performed overseas on U.S. aircraft, Wytkind said that the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration have responded to this congressional edict with little more than, "broken promises and missed deadlines."

Wytkind said that allowing foreign interests to control U.S. airlines would undercut the Civilian Reserve Air Fleet, a Pentagon program which relies upon commercial airlines for reliable and timely transports of U.S. troops and equipment in times of war.

The proposal, which Wytkind said "denies Congress its historic role in shaping aviation policy," is the result of "the Administration's desire to placate the European Union in an attempt to secure a new aviation services pact. It is that simple - this change in foreign control rules is a give-away at the negotiating table."

U.S. airlines are already seeking to replace staff, such as flight attendants, with citizens of foreign countries, Wytkind told the panel, adding that the proposed changes "would directly threaten the jobs and the rights of the workers we represent as airlines are given yet another tool to seek out the lowest common denominator in wage and benefit costs."

A majority of the House Aviation Subcommittee are sponsors of H.R. 4542, legislation by Reps. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) and James Oberstar (D-MN) which would prevent the Administration from implementing these proposed changes for one year and require the Department of Transportation to report on the impact that changes would have on U.S. workers and our nation's economy and security. At today's hearing, the Bush proposal was widely criticized by both Republican and Democrat members of the Subcommittee.

Click here for a copy of Wytkind's full statement.

TTD represents 29 member unions in the aviation, rail, transit, trucking, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries. For more information, visit www.ttd.org

In the beginning....

The cold air hit me as soon as I stepped off of the airplane.  Even with the canopy down, the frigid wind whipped across my face.  It was February, and it was my first taste of a Chicago winter.

 

Having graduated from flight attendant training only days before, my head buzzed with rules and regulations.  My heart was filled with homesickness even though I had only left my family that morning.

 

As I dragged my over-stuffed bag towards baggage claim, it finally hit me.  I was now a flight attendant.  What had I gotten myself into?  Here I was in a city that I had never been, with limited money, no apartment, four suitcases, and only a three day hotel stay provided by my company.  What was I going to do now?

 

An hour later I was safe in my hotel room.  After calling my parents to let them know that I was ok, I began to cry.  Uprooting myself from family and friends whom cared about me, to a huge city where I knew no one.  It was all in the name of free travel.  What had I really gotten myself into this time?  I pulled out my favourite blanket and pillow from one of my suitcases.  Wrapping them around me, I fell into a deep sleep.

 

The task at hand, the following morning, was to find an address, or at the very least a place to stow my suitcases.  I headed out to the airport to check the want ads in operations.  No one seemed to be looking for anyone like me.  By chance I ran into a girl who graduated in the class before mine.  She had a crash pad, but she said that I was more then welcome to stay there, until I found something better.  As luck would have it, the crash pad was even at the same hotel that I was staying.  Living in a hotel is not the best of circumstances, but at least it was safe.  My mother wasn’t exactly thrilled with the situation.  For now at least I had a place to sleep and stow my bags, until a girl in the class behind me graduated from training.  We had spoken only briefly before I graduated.  The only thing that we had in common, at that point, was we would be both new to Chicago, and knew no one else.

 

Her name was Brooke, and she was only nineteen at the time.  Like me it was her first time away from home.  After two weeks of living in a crash pad, her call came.  True to her word, she told me that she had found a room and that I was welcome to share it with her.  I then packed up my things as soon as possible, grabbed a cab to meet my new room mates.  We shared the place with another flight attendant and pilot, who were dating, but had separate rooms. 

 

I took a leap of faith and sharing a room with a girl that I had spoken to for only a few minutes. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  We both were away from home for the first time, so we looked out for each other.  Brooke would always take me grocery shopping, or pick me up from work if I got home too late.  I would help her get ready for work, if she got called out.   I would iron her uniform, pack her a lunch, or get all of her stuff together.  Sometimes two hours isn’t enough time to get ready.   I tried toteach her how to use mass transit, but she still preferred to have her car.  I don’t think that I would have lasted in those first few months if it weren’t for Brooke’s friendship. 

 

We would spend some nights chatting until the wee hours of the morning.  We also had our weekly pilgrimages to the local tanning salon.  When the weather started getting warm the two of us would lounge by the pool drinking Miller Highlife®, and eating jell-o® shots, while we baked our skin to a golden brown.  While I started to adjust to my new life in Chicago, Brooke grew more and more homesick for her family.  She hated being away from them, and she got tired of always being on the fly.

 

When the lease was up with our apartment, Brooke quit and went back home to be with her family.  I got a place in the heart of Chicago, and thus my love affair with the city began.  I don’t blame her for quitting, this life isn’t for everyone.  She went back to school and went on to do bigger and better things.  She came to visit me once, and we have chatted on the phone a few times over the years.  I still don’t think that she ever realized how much her friendship meant to me.

It's only water

Awhile back I had an interesting situation arise on a flight from Chicago to Baton Rouge

 

 

We were at the end of our beverage service and wheeling the cart up to the front of the airplane.  It was a little on the bumpy side.  Nothing too terrible, but it made pouring drinks a bit of a challenge

 

We had almost gotten all of the way to the galley with the cart, when Mr. “Platinum” in 1B asked yours truly for some water.  I nodded and proceeded to fill a cup with ice, and then with water.  Mr. “Platinum” barked, “NO ICE!” to me just as I lifted the scoop out of the ice tray.  Nodding again, I began to fill his cup with water, about ¾ full.  Mind you it was a little on the bumpy side at the time, and I didn’t want to spill water on him.

 

“A little MORE water,” he barked at me again.  So I added a little more water to his glass, trying not to spill it on him in the process.  Still not satisfied he barked at me yet again, “MORE WATER!”  So I added yet more water to his glass, still not trying to spill it on him.  It was filled this time almost to the brim, and yet he demanded more.  Finally I said, “Sorry sir, if I fill it anymore I am afraid that your cup will over flow.  With that, I put the water away, and helped the other flight attendant stow the cart, before it got bumpier.

 

Mr. Platinum then gets up, slams his empty cup down on the cart right in front of my face, mumbles something and then sits back down.  I stop what I was doing, turn to face him, and ask him what he just said.  He matter of factly begins to tell me that he is going to write a letter to the president of my airline about how rudely I poured his water.

 

I paused for a second to ponder whether or not I was really in a bad episode of the Twilight Zone.  He then continues to bark about how rude I was.

 

In shock I begin by apologizing and telling him that I wasn’t trying to be rude.  (I really wanted to tell him, “go ahead and write, I don’t care, see where that gets you”. I bit my tongue instead)   He stops, and his eyes begin to widen as he stared at me.

 

“I am sorry that you felt that way sir, but I wasn’t trying to be rude.  I was however trying NOT to spill water on you.  If you feel that me not over filling your glass with water, because I didn’t want to spill it on you is rude, then so be it.  If you feel that your ONLY justification in the matter is to write a letter to my company about me, then do so.  But keep in mind sir; I was merely trying NOT to spill water on you!”

 

His face suddenly softened and all me muttered to me was, “Oh…  Okay, okay” before returning to his book.

 

I wonder how upset he would have been had I just filled the glass up all of the way, handing it to him, and splashing him in the face in the process.  Giving him exactly what he wanted, rather than being cautious from the get go.

 

It’s frustrating when people like to use me as a verbal punching bag to pamper their childish ego trips.  They believe that I am forced to take all of the abuse that they dish out.  This was yet another example of how sometimes you can’t seem to please anyone no matter how hard you try.

For the co-workers...

(my beliefs on the exsistance of God, are not reflected in this cartoon...)

 

"I found your BLOG!!" 

It's a common reaction that I have gotten from quite a few of my co-workers of the past year, since my blog has gained so much momentum.  I like writing about things that people can relate to, and sometimes learn from.  I am happy that there are so many of you out there who think that my crazy life is interesting enough to read about.

I think that I could write a whole book just about all of the people who I work with.  Of course my favorite will always be my best friend in the whole wide world, John Carlos.

(Here he is fast asleep after working all night completing union and school work!)

If there ever was a time that I have been in trouble for something at work, chances are John Carlos was involved in some way.  The two of us are way too well known for going against the grain, all in the name of Unity...  John Carlos has a soap box permanently afixed to the bottom of his shoes.  John is passionate about everything that he is involved in, especially union work.  He has dragged me into some situations a few times.  Even with that, I wish that I had half of the motivation and drive that he does.  John literally will not rest until he gets the task at hand completed. 

I am only a month senior to John at our company, so I have known him the entire time I have been a flight attendant.  John and I have never worked on an airplane together for the simple fact that, I like my job and I do not want to lose my job.  The two of us stuck together on an airplane would be a recipe for disaster. 

When we lived together, we used to car pool to work.  At stop lights John was famous for either having a spastic episode looking like he had Torret's syndrome, or putting fake glasses on and asking the car next to us if they knew how to get to the airport.  Mind you we were in uniform!  I never seen people run so fast to get out of his way, when they caught a look at John spastic at the wheel!  The looks of bewilderment from motorists seeing a flight attendant ask for directions to the airport is also priceless.

He was also famous for stealing my business cards and passing them out to random strangers, hoping to score me a date.  If that wasn't bad enough, he would wait until I was riding along in the car to do it!  I think that one time he almost ran down a bicyclist in the process.  We didn't have extra money, so we had to be creative with our fun.  By the way, John doesn't drink either!  All of his antics are preformed under 100% sobriety. 

Don't think that I always let him get by with murder.  Being hard of hearing has been his downfall at times.  He takes his hearing aids out when he takes a shower, John has gotten pelted with icy water quite a few times.  That of course was in retaliation of him screaming at the top of his lungs, causing me to cut myself shaving in the bath.  Also when he is sleeping, he can't hear when I am snapping pictures like the one shown above.  That will teach him to try and flip my dress up in public.

When John Carlos and I talk about old times, we errupt into constant laughter.  We are in our own little world, where one word sentences are all that's needed to perpetuate side splitting laughs.  That I must say, is what true love is...

An interesting e-mail

(Some of you road warriors out there might like to read this...)

   

Tuesday, January 10, 2006;   A key lawmaker's suggestion to restrict airline passengers to one carry-on bag has sparked a debate among politicians, travelers, airlines and their employees.

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who chairs the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said it may be time to crack down on carry-ons to allow airport screeners greater flexibility in searching bags for explosives.

Next month, as part of a Feb. 9 aviation hearing, Stevens plans to initiate further debate on the issue. At a hearing last month, Stevens said he was concerned that airport screeners are too busy processing and searching through carry-on bags at airport checkpoints and whether that slows the process of looking for explosives or other dangerous items.

"He's in the preliminary stages of looking at the issue," a Stevens spokesman said.

Other than suggesting passengers be limited to one carry-on, Stevens has not outlined what, if any, specifics he is proposing. So the key question for many travelers -- would purses and briefcases count as one carry-on bag? -- cannot yet be answered.
 
At last month's hearing, Jim May, head of the Air Transport Association, indicated that he opposes limiting the number of carry-on bags, saying passengers should be more judicious in packing their carry-ons. Because TSA screeners are able to screen each passenger's bags within two minutes, tighter limits on carry-ons may not be needed, May said.

"I fully appreciate a tremendous number of business travelers that like to be able to carry on a single bag, well packed, plus a laptop computer, a purse in the case of the ladies, etc.," May said at the hearing.

The fear for most business travelers is that if they are carrying a suitcase or a purse, they might have to check their overnight bag, instead of placing it in the overhead bin.

Investment banker Lee Shepard of Redwood City, Calif., said forcing business travelers to check bags would mean longer delays at the airport and would make air travel "even less attractive." At a time when airlines have already cut the number of baggage handlers and some carriers such as Northwest and United have begun charging for checked bags, Shepard said, the proposal would make travel "less convenient."

Reston-based frequent flier Jonathan C. Esslinger said airlines would have to hire more workers and install more airport kiosks to allow travelers to check their bags. "How many airlines have the financial ability to hire a great number of new employees to handle a lot more bags?" said Esslinger, a director with the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Road warrior Eric M. Uslaner, a University of Maryland government and politics professor, said the size, not the number of bags, should be policed. "Now you can carry on anything smaller than a Hummer and force the flight attendants to find somewhere to store it," he said.

Those details will be mulled at next month's hearing. Stevens's opinions on carry-on bags surfaced last month during hearings on the Transportation Security Administration's plan to allow passengers to carry scissors and screwdrivers on flights.

"I'd be happier if you permitted passengers to only take one thing on," Stevens said at the time, according to a transcript of the hearing. "Some of those bags are occupying more space in a plane than I do."

It's not the first time strict carry-on limits have been broached. The move first surfaced in 1997 as airlines struggled with overstuffed overhead bins and looked for relief.

But now, in the wake of increased airport security because of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Stevens says it may be time to revisit the airlines' policies.

Airlines allow two carry-ons per passenger, a limit that has been in place since 1987. But as carry-on bags have grown in size over the years, many industry observers have argued about revisiting the issue. Airlines have complained about the hassle of travelers searching for overhead bin space and delaying their flights. And flight attendants have complained about having to help passengers with large bags.

The Association of Flight Attendants has already issued their support of Stevens's idea. "We've always urged them to limit the amount of carry-ons," said Patricia Friend, president of flight attendant's union. "In our opinion, it's more important that the less bags security has to screen, the more attention they can pay to the ones they do screen."

But as Stevens and the flight attendants favor the idea, the airlines, fearing a backlash from business travelers, are less enthusiastic.

...But I don't want to date you!

...Nothing says, "Don't even bother hitting on me," quite like cubic zirconium!

 

It's happened to me once or twice over the course of my career as a flight attendant, but nothing like what I am about to tell you.

Coming out of White Plains early in the morning.  The flight was pretty full, but nothing out of the ordinary.  One passenger stood out right away with his black clothing and matching barret pulled over his short blond curls.  He was sitting right in front of the exit row, acting rather peculiar.  Actually, he was being a down right weirdo.  He had his bag in the middle of the isle, all in disarray, along with his feet, contently reading some book.  After asking him several times to move himself and his belongings out of the isle, until he finally got the hint. 

During the beverage service, I got the pleasure of offering him something to drink.  At first he wanted alcohol, at 9AM mind you, which we didn't have.  After I told him that we didn't have anything of that sort, he told me, "Never mind..."  and went on reading his book.  He then decided to ask me for a bottle of water when I was in the middle of taking more drink orders from other passengers.  He wanted a small bottle of water.  When I offered him a glass of water, he again told me, "Never mind!"  So I went on my merry way filling the rest of the passengers drink orders.

After my #1 flight attendant and I had moved the cart up to the front of the plane, Mr. Never mind proceeds to come up behind me and ask me why I didn't give him the water that he asked for.  He had told me 3 minutes before that he didn't want anything!  So I asked him to hold on a second, and I filled the rest of the drink orders of the row that I was working on.  I then gave him his water, and sent him on his way, back to his seat where he had the contents of his bag in the isle again!

To make a long story short, after the service, Mr. Never mind proceeds to ring his call button several times.  When I came up to answer his call, he didn't want anything, that is, until my co-worker made her way through the isle.  After asking for two more glasses of water, and wanting her to sit next to him so that he could tell her a "funny story."  (Which she politely refused) 

 He then made his way to the back of the plane, where the two of us were, and asked my #1 flight attendant for her phone number.  When she tried to explain that she has a boyfriend that she has been dating for over five years, Mr. Never mind, exclaims: "I don't want to date you, I just want to talk to you when you aren't at work!"  He proceeds to tell her that he's rich and doesn't have to work, and that he is an activist for some Dr. Martin Luther King, something or other... 

I don't know why she didn't want to give up everything that she has with her boyfriend, for this winner!  (get the hint of sarcasm???)

If that wasn't the icing on the cake...  When we finally get to Chicago, the reserve first officer that we were flying with wants to take my #1 out for coffee.  At first she thought that he wanted to grab some coffee with her right then and there.  The 23 year old kid, had other ideas.  He wanted to take her out for coffee when she was in recurrent training the following week.  She tried to be honest and give him the boy friend speech, blah blah blah.  He then proceeds to tell her, "But, I don't want to date you, I just want to go out for some coffee!!!!"

Sometimes you just can't win, but what else can one do in that situation?  When she asked me how I handle those sort of situations, I told her that I kill the opportunity before it has a chance to present itself.  I showed her the ring that I was wearing on my ring finger that I recently got off of eBay!  (pictured above)  It's not a real engagement ring, but someone just looking for a good time, doesn't need to know that.  It's a trick that I got several years ago, even before I met my boy friend, to keep the weirdos from hitting on me. 

A ring on is a visible sign that you DO NOT want to be available, to those who may be on the prowl.  Taking my advice, I think that my co-worker is going to invest in some fine cubic zirconium!

Independence Air will shut it's doors on January 5th!

As of January 5, 2006 Independence Air will cease operations...

https://www.flyi.com/Default.aspx

 

To my fellow union brothers and sisters you will be in my thoughts on Thursday.  You guys lived the dream of regional airlines, if only for a short time.

If you need advice about who is hiring, resume help, ect.  Please e-mail me, and I will offer everything that I know.

Good luck!

The ZEN of Diet Soda...

Ok...  As I have said before, you can't please everyone and sometimes you can't even please ANYONE.  That can't be further from the truth this Holiday season. 

Full flights and under stocked galley carts seem to go hand in hand.  I am convinced that people don't realize that I am NOT a waitress.  It isn't my job to keep their diet coke over flowing, especially when there are only THREE diet cokes to go around for an entire flight.  Other than safety part of my duties include providing A service.  Just one, and if time and supplies permit, then re-offer.  When most of my flights are about an hour, then time permitting doesn't come into play. 

I know that there has been alot of buzz about flight attendants not giving out cans anymore.  Well here's my take on it...  There is only so much space in the galley carts for XYZ cans of soda.  When stocked with more Z and Y soda than the more popular A or diet B soda.  There's only so much to go around.  When passenger Q wants a whole can of Diet B soda, and the flight attendant knows that 20 passengers behind passenger Q will want the same, and there isn't 20 other cans of Diet B,  he or she has quite a pickle. 

If you were in their high heels, would you:

A)Make one greedy person happy and anger the other twenty people?

B)Try to supply as many people with the drink that they want as possible?

C)Keep all of the Diet soda for yourself, and make all your passengers who paid dearly for their tickets drink...  water?

D)Throw in your apron and quit because your feet hurt and you aren't cut out to serve diet coke at 35,000 feet?

 

The same equation can be applied to pillows, blankets, peanuts, pretzels, and overhead space.  You get the hint. Well ladies and gentleman we apologize for the inconvenience, but we can't give you what we don't have.  Flight attendants aren't as equipped anymore to provide you with every little minute thing that your heart desires.  Keep in mind that we are just along for the ride too, and don't set out to make your life miserable, after all it's just DIET COKE, not rocket science!