• When a lady stopped me gently to whisper that i had “mastered the art of kindness”
• When an elderly woman told me i was “put on earth to be a flight attendant”
• Each and every time someone complimented my nails
• When i found an $8000 diamond watch left behind under a seat, gave it to a gate agent, only to have the passenger come running back 10 minutes later. Gate agent: man u wouldve been in trouble, huh? Man whom looked like a bond villain: i wouldve been SHOT.
• Every lesbian ive worked with and had the nice bonding moment of “ur gay?? Im gay!!”
• That time a man tried to get huffy with me because he wasnt in 1st class and i got to say “sir u can either sit in this seat or u can sit in a seat in the terminal while u wait to take the next flight”
• When i had an emergency landing because the pilots lost steering and we all thought we were gonna die but then we didn’t and everyone just applauded the landing and didnt even complain about the 2 hour delay
• When my flight was delayed for 3 hours because the plane wouldnt start so the crew and i just took a really long nap in the jetway
• Every 4 and 5 star hotel ive stayed at for free
• When we overnighted in the middle of nowhere in alabama and went to a sports bar at midnight. The bartender locked the door so it was just him and us and his friend, and we all got super drunk on obscure alcohols and i kicked everyones ass at pool
• That time i had an emergency landing because one pilot had such explosive diarrhea that the other 2 pilots had to wear oxygen masks
• When we overnighted in a casino resort in new orleans and ended up drunk on margaritas and playing blackjack with a bunch of old people at 2pm
• Every little kid on my flights
• Every dog i got to pet on my flights
• When we were flying to nyc during julliard recruitments and half the seats were taken up by cellos
• Being in airports late at night and seeing people sleep in the weirdest places because they just dont care (bathroom floors, under gate agent desks, etc)
• When a woman forgot her actual baby on the plane
• Woman: can i board first? Gate agent: are u special needs, active military or priority? Woman: no i just want to board first. Gate agent: maam i have 70 other people who also want to board first, im not looking for a line leader.
• My very first working flight, when a man pointed to my necklace and said “is that a ball gag?” And, in my shock, i said “no, im gay”

• That time a ramp agent came up to me holding up his phone and said “wanna see something weird?” and i said yes, reservedly, thinking it might be gross but then he held out his phone and it was just a picture of hundreds of paradise birds that we were apparently flying to a zoo

• The old woman on my plane who saw a teenager was having a panic attack and immediately moved to sit with her and brought her so much comfort she was able to fall asleep
• Working a flight with only 4 passengers so we all played Cards Against Humanity
• Everyone who has very gently said “Stay safe” rather than “Goodbye”
• Complimenting passengers’ fun masks and being complimented in return
• The anxiety service dogs at the Philly airport wearing vests that say Stress Relief
• The little girl in the airport who begged me to french braid her hair like mine (and her very apologetic mother)
• The barista at the airport cafe who gave me free lattes every week for two months because I always came by around closing time
• The beachside resort my FA and I got stuck at in key west for 3 days around my birthday because of a hurricane. If you’re gonna get stuck somewhere because of a hurricane, it might as well be a beachside resort with bottomless margaritas
• Each time I reunited with a flight attendant/pilot friend in an airport or at a hotel or on an airplane. It always feels like a little gift
• Speaking of gifts, every passenger that has ever given me anything but especially the man that brought freshly made muffins from his bakery for the crew last month, they were divine
• The flight attendant I worked with on Halloween who watched a horror movie marathon with me at the hotel even though he was terrified of scary movies
• Every aircraft cleaner
• Every hotel cleaner
• Every unaccompanied minor on my flights, who always make me feel like a temporary big sister
• The time my roommate (also a flight attendant) got a flat tire while in the airport parking garage and no less than 3 different pilots stopped to help us change it
• Flight crew game nights in our hotel rooms
• The beach overnight on the last day of summer when my pilot and I (drunkenly) decided to go swimming in the ocean at midnight
• The flight attendant who approached me in a hotel lobby and said we had flown together two years earlier, just after she’d been hired, and she’d wanted to fly with me again ever since
• The nurse on my flight who, when the passenger beside her began seizing, leapt into action and saved her life
• The tween girl who wanted to be a flight attendant and had us quiz her on airport codes (she got every single one correct 😳)
• All the flight crew members who regularly help me steal supplies from the aircrafts (gloves, masks, water bottles, sani wipes etc) to bring to Philly’s homeless camps and protesters

9/13/14