Thanksgiving 2021 has just past, and the Christmas holiday is on the way! I remember the early days of my career. Being on the low end of the seniority list, I was doomed to work during the holidays. What I soon realized was that it was a blessing! Since I had no family near by at the time, riding on a standby was impossible during the holidays, so spending those holidays with my Airline Family was a great gift!
Often times the holiday schedules were different than normal. One Thanksgiving we had a layover of several hours in Northern Michigan. One of the agents invited our crew of three to share their Thanksgiving dinner! I remember the food being wonderful, but what warmed my heart was the welcoming hospitality of our host and his lovely wife!
On another occasion we flew to Chicago- then had a 5 hour layover before flying back to Detroit. Our Captain lived in Chicago, so off we went to his home for his "family" holiday! And another Thanksgiving we again were the guests at a crew member's home during a layover.
I remember being now senior enough to have the holiday off- but with no family to share the holidays with, I chose to fly- leaving it open for someone junior to have that time off.
One Thanksgiving I packed all sorts of "travel safe" food to share with the crew as we tooled around the midwest. Salami/ cream cheese rolls, special crackers and cheese, grapes, and cherry pie wedges were put on little plastic trays for the cockpit crew. I remember a few special olives and veggies too! That was a fun "inflight" party!
Of course, Christmas was a special time. We had a Flight Attendant named Jeff who would decorate the aircraft with Christmas decor for our flights. I believe this was usually on the DC-9. He was a fantastic Flight Attendant who always went the extra mile. Oh- how I loved flying the Holidays with him, as well as a few others. We had a gal who always wore "rain deer antlers" - fuzzy things that would sit on her head during her safety demo and service. She was one of those fun people who could carry it off!
I have many memories of "Christmas In The Air" that I'll share later. Once I had my own family, we still had Birthdays and holidays that this "airline family" had to work. We developed a saying- an attitude that Holidays were in the Heart, not the Calendar! My oldest son is now an airline pilot. His family has adopted this attitude too!
For these 2021 Holidays, may all my dear readers have the holidays in the Heart, whether they are celebrated on the calendar day, or at a time when you all can be together! That, after all, is the real blessing!
Life Is Indeed An Adventure! And May Holidays Always Be In The Heart!
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