As I write this I am 3 hours into a 4-½ hour flight from
Charlotte to Phoenix. The truth is, this
is a routine flight for me; I have been on this flight more times than I can
count and it is by no means the longest flight I have been on. This isn’t about the length of the flights though this is about the
things that cross my mind while on a plane.
My time is mostly spent working and that is when the most ridiculous of
thoughts seem to pop into my head because I swear people turn into their alter
egos on airplanes. Today though I am not working I am merely a passenger.
"Travel is not reward for working, it’s education for living."
I have also probably written my most emotional text messages
or blog posts (some never sent or posted) while flying. This is probably because it is true what they
say, “airports and airplanes see the most sincere tears, hellos, goodbyes, and
kisses”. This makes anyone with a heart
feel something, and while I have a black heart, I do still catch the feelings
occasionally. When this happens I take
out my cell phone and I type. Once again
the writer in me wins. A few of you
reading this have been on the receiving end of one of these messages, it
probably started with “so I was flying” or “nothing like a plane ride…” I then
proceeded to be emotionally slutty, as Carrie Bradshaw would put it! Or I just got weird on you out of nowhere and
eventually admit that I am either on a plane or smack in the middle of a 4-day
trip.
Here’s the thing, planes bring out the best and worst in
people. I have watched doctors, nurses
and EMTs jump to their feet and help me in a medical emergency, I have watched
people cry in the window seat hoping no one can see them, I have watched
military men and women come on board and tell me they don’t know when they will
be back. Then there are the people
yelling at you because their bag won’t fit in an overhead, yelling because you
don’t have free snacks, threatening to get you fired because you don’t have a
place to hang their parka on the way to Miami.
I can meet around 500 people in a day and all of them have a story. These people that I meet and their stories
are what lead to all my thoughts!
- That couple in first class 1A and 1C is who I want to be with my future husband, how did they get here? Were there fights? Did it take a few tries before the timing was right? Will I find my person? I think I found my person. Ok now I am crazy. Geez they are great
- Dear god, why on earth do you not have shoes on, no please don’t…really you are going into that filthy bathroom without shoes on! I am judging you so hard.
- Passenger “where is the bar on this plane, like in the commercial with that hot blonde girl”. Hmmm I have been wondering that same thing sir since I started working here. Where is the bar and where are the showers and all those other things that hot blonde girl gets.
- Same passenger from above “if you get bored miss you can come sit next to me and I’ll keep you company”. Oh is that so, well unfortunately I would rather entertain myself by coloring, drinking water, eating snacks, or just downright being bored.
- Passenger “are we going to __blank__” no mam we are going to Antarctica, hope you packed a coat
- Why don’t people read real books anymore? Maybe it makes them sick on planes, it makes me want die while flying personally.
- Do people really think yelling “MISS” at me will make me want to get them that 5th Jack and Coke? Why is it always the people drinking Jack and Coke?
- Is it bad that my unaccompanied minor and I are reading the same book?
- If you cant lift your bag what makes you think I can? I am not Captain America despite popular belief. I consider cardio walking up and down this aisle collecting your absurd amounts of trash.
- How is so much trash accumulated on a plane?
- Why did no one consult a flight attendant before they made this hunk of metal?
- Do people really think the seatbelt sign is just on because the captain forgot to turn it off?
-
- Why is your child climbing on the seats, don't you value his life?
- How much longer?
Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.
— Ibn Battuta
Sometimes while flying I get to meet someone and really have a conversation with them, maybe just quick and meaningless but every once and awhile a customer will share a piece of themselves with you and today was a day I got a good story. I am in uniform so it is safe to say the guy sitting next to me will want to chat, he asks if I am headed home or to work. Home I say, just finished working. I ask if he was in Charlotte for the Cardinals game (everyone on this plane was there for that game, the people in first class are currently all talking about it collectively). He isn't, he is heading to phoenix for work a trip he makes quite often. Towards the end of the flight we have both finished watching movies and I take out my computer to write and he takes out his to work. He sees me typing this and asks if I am writing a book, no, I laugh, just a blog. He asks for the link and I say sorry, I don't give it out to passengers but if you ever find it I hope you like it! I find out he has pilot friends and has done incredible mission work. We talk about my want to join the peace corp and his adopted daughter from Kurdistan. These are the stories that make my job incredible. And then just like that I hear "flight attendants prepare for landing". Just like that it is all over with, I will never see these people again, these people with all their stories. I grab my bags to head home I say it was a pleasure meeting you and I leave. I will never see him again but he has undoubtedly reignited my fire to change the world in a way. There is something kind of amazing about the fact that I will do this all over again tomorrow, 500 more people!
xxx
B
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