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Growing up in St. Louis,
Mo. I can remember when I was a little girl our babysitter would take
us to Lambert Airport to park and watch the airplanes take off and land.
I had every kind of airplane memorized and I could name every airline.
At that time I vowed that if my dance career never took off, a flight
attendant I would be. I carried that dream with me for the next 13
years.
Moving to New York in 1979 to pursue my dance career, I decided that I would prefer to fly. I interviewed with 3 airlines before the 3rd one hired me! Braniff Airlines, Frontier Airlines and finally Eastern Airlines! I was so excited. I loved flying and I loved serving people. Plus I got to stay in New York and fly out of JFK and LaGuardia. Eastern eventually went bankrupt and I found myself moving back to Wichita in 1988.
The last time I flew on an airplane was pre-911. It was in August 1992. I flew with my husband Gary and it was not for anything fun. We were flying to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA to be with Alexis, Gary's youngest daughter as she was to have a surgery where we were hoping the brain cancer would and could be removed. The surgery was not successful and less than 10% of the tumor could be removed. Feelings of deflation, powerlessness, and utter defeat accompanied our weary hearts. Two weeks after that we were on an airplane flying back to Wichita stunned by the doctors last words of, "make her as comfortable as you can, until...." Alexis passed away the following April at the age of 8. That is the last time I flew. A memory full of sadness. A memory that stung to the core of my being. A memory that wiped away all the other memories of flying that were fun. I have carried these memories now for 19 years. I have not flown since then. Perhaps if I had, a new and different memory could take its place.
Now I find myself jumping for joy, giddy with excitement, with joyful anticipation of creating a NEW memory with Gary, Michael and Christopher as we fly to Orlando, Florida. A memory of laughter. A memory beyond our wildest dreams. I'm getting on an airplane again with a different mind set. A family's bond strengthened by a happy memory!
my wings and senior pin
the BEST airline EVER!!
in action!
Moving to New York in 1979 to pursue my dance career, I decided that I would prefer to fly. I interviewed with 3 airlines before the 3rd one hired me! Braniff Airlines, Frontier Airlines and finally Eastern Airlines! I was so excited. I loved flying and I loved serving people. Plus I got to stay in New York and fly out of JFK and LaGuardia. Eastern eventually went bankrupt and I found myself moving back to Wichita in 1988.
The last time I flew on an airplane was pre-911. It was in August 1992. I flew with my husband Gary and it was not for anything fun. We were flying to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA to be with Alexis, Gary's youngest daughter as she was to have a surgery where we were hoping the brain cancer would and could be removed. The surgery was not successful and less than 10% of the tumor could be removed. Feelings of deflation, powerlessness, and utter defeat accompanied our weary hearts. Two weeks after that we were on an airplane flying back to Wichita stunned by the doctors last words of, "make her as comfortable as you can, until...." Alexis passed away the following April at the age of 8. That is the last time I flew. A memory full of sadness. A memory that stung to the core of my being. A memory that wiped away all the other memories of flying that were fun. I have carried these memories now for 19 years. I have not flown since then. Perhaps if I had, a new and different memory could take its place.
Now I find myself jumping for joy, giddy with excitement, with joyful anticipation of creating a NEW memory with Gary, Michael and Christopher as we fly to Orlando, Florida. A memory of laughter. A memory beyond our wildest dreams. I'm getting on an airplane again with a different mind set. A family's bond strengthened by a happy memory!
my wings and senior pinthe BEST airline EVER!!in action!
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