Fasten Your Seatbelts: A Flight Attendant's Adventures 36,000 Feet and Below (11 page)

Mom and I were sitting in the living room having a conversation. It was supposed to be a private one. I told her there was a pilot who asked me out, but I wasn’t ready to date anyone. Suddenly, two loud knocks were heard on the window. The chance a bird could have struck the window two simultaneous times was pretty slim. We were on the second floor, so there was no way anyone could have been outside the window. Besides, the knocks sounded like they came from the inside. We looked at each other and shook our heads. If you let your imagination control you, fear will get the best of you. We continued on with our conversation and tried to ignore anything else.

At this point, I was a little afraid to go to bed at night. I always had the television on so I wouldn’t hear anything. Eventually, I would fall asleep then turn off the television somewhere in the middle of the night. One time, I did just that. I woke up from a deep sleep, turned off the TV, but this time I didn’t go back to sleep. I looked around feeling uneasy. I felt a heavy presence slowly lowering itself on top of my legs. I lay there rigid with fear. I said out loud, “If you’re here Craig, you
need to go to the light.” That is what I always heard you should say in this situation.

I had a trip to London and told the crew everything that was going on including the mysterious night visitor. We were at the hotel getting ready to leave for the airport. The bus driver was loading our luggage. I was the last crew member to get on the greyhound bus. As I took the first step on the bus, the radio turned itself on full blast. The crew was totally spooked because no one was in the driver’s seat. Whether it was a coincidence or not, many of the crewmembers said jokingly they didn’t want to fly with me anymore.

Meanwhile, back at home, the newest revelation was doors locking by themselves. Mom and dad did not know they had a lock on their master bedroom door. We heard crashes in the garage and in the basement. Under investigation, nothing seemed to be out of place.

Our entire family had gathered for a couple of days for the Thanksgiving holiday. We were having a conversation when my sister-in-law mentioned she had gone to the same school I did when we were children. This was the first I heard of that, so I told her I would go in the basement and see if I could find my childhood class pictures. I asked if anyone was brave enough to go with me; my brother reluctantly volunteered. After finding the pictures, we ran up the stairs as fast as we could. To our
amazement, the kitchen door was locked and we couldn’t get in the kitchen. We banged and banged on the door. At first we thought someone was playing a joke on us, but no one in our family locked it.

I did see something only one time. I went to sleep with the television on, and then of course later on, turned it off. In the corner of the room, I saw something that caught my eye. The best way I can describe it is it looked like a glowing, day old, deflated balloon. I just turned off the TV and thought maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me. (You know when you look at the sun, you can still see its shadow if you close your eyes.) I closed my eyes and didn’t see anything. I slowly opened them, but it was still there. It hovered for a second or two, and then slowly moved in front of my closet where it disappeared. What was strange about this incident was I heard a non-audible voice say, “Thanks for giving my brother my ties” — which I had done after the funeral.

I moved out of my parents’ house after a year. I moved into my own little apartment in Buckhead, a suburb of Atlanta. I never heard or felt anything even though I lived by myself. My parents, on the other hand, did continue to hear things for quite a while. They eventually sold their house and moved back to the country in Illinois.

he most common question I am asked is this: “Have you had any celebrities on board?”

My all-time favorite was Dolly Parton. Wearing a white, fringed outfit, she was an absolute delight and down to earth. Her waist was so small; her breasts were so large and her smile, radiant. She was traveling with her assistant who was as pleasant as she was. I was working first class and gave Dolly her tray. She ate the meat and salad and left behind the bread and dessert. Now, that is will power. I told her she was a very pretty lady. “Well, you are too, sugar,” she replied.

I had Cher on board when she was filming the movie “Suspect.” She mentioned she had three homes, one in Canada, one in New York and one is LA and probably travels more than I do. I glanced at her script for the movie. It was enormous. I had a newfound respect for what actors go through to learn scripts for a movie. I served her a club soda and due to the late
hour she curled her legs and gently rocked back and forth as she stared out the window. She was quietly elegant.

Years later, I saw Tony Bennett sitting on a VIP shuttle cart waiting to catch his flight. I smiled at him, and he flashed his twinkling eyes at me. Knowing that opportunities don’t come along like this very often, I had to go over and talk to him. I thanked him for being a part of my Christmas every year with his music. There are certain men I would go out with no matter how old they are; he would be one of them. Jimmy Stewart would have been another.

My favorite male celebrity was Terry Bradshaw. What a great guy! He was an animated talker who used his hands liberally to speak. As I walked by him he accidentally hit my breast. He did this two times. The third time I walked by he said, “Hey come here, I forgot to do something.” We both laughed.

I had George Straight on my flight before he became a popular country star. He was traveling from Dallas to San Antonio and was my only passenger in first class. We sat and talked the whole way. He lovingly spoke of his wife and two children.

Toby Maguire and his girlfriend (now wife) were traveling together in first class. He was extremely nice and had impeccable manners, always saying please and thank you. My nephew who is a huge “Spiderman” fan was happy to hear that.

Katie Couric and her late husband Jay were boarding the flight from San Juan to Miami years ago. She gave me a big, classic Katie smile and I thought to myself,
“I could be friends with her.”
In fact, I think that is why America loves her…her smile makes everyone feel as though they are friends.

The flight attendants like to hide behind the gate check-in area while waiting for the incoming airplane to arrive and the passengers deplane. Otherwise we get bombarded with questions about people’s travel plans. As we were waiting in Orlando behind the desk, Kirstie Alley and her two kids were also trying to find a place to escape. I happened to look up to see her peeking around the corner. I welcomed her to join us. She was losing a bunch of weight at that point and looked great. I loved her personality and told her she could hide out with us anytime.

Jane Fonda boarded my flight one day and sat in coach by the window. It was a nighttime flight; she was wearing her sunglasses. Some movie stars like to be recognized and some don’t. In this case, I knew she did not want to be bothered. Several passengers asked if I would get her autograph, but I knew it was a bad idea and said no. I looked at her as I passed through the cabin with the beverage cart. From where I was standing, I could only see her from behind. She was shaking her head back and forth. It looked as though she was talking to herself. I
told the other flight attendant I thought she had gone crazy. We finished the service and out of curiosity I had to take a second look at her. I walked through the aisle picking up the trash, so I wouldn’t look conspicuous. She had a piece of paper in her hand and was reading from it.
Aah haa!
She wasn’t crazy after all, and was preparing for a speech or studying a script. At the end of the flight, we were preparing the cabin for landing. Miss Fonda stopped me with a finger pointing up. I waited as she finished her water and then her cranberry-apple juice. She looked at me and gave me a wink and a nod of the head. I gave her a wink and a nod in return. I knew without saying a word she appreciated being left alone.

While watching Hoda and Kathie Lee do their morning talk show, I admired Hoda’s dress. Later that day, I was walking through the Palm Beach airport terminal and saw Hoda wearing that same dress coming my way. I said, “Hey, It’s nice to see you.” She said, “It’s nice to see you, too.” I could tell she was as genuine in real life as she was on her television show.

I would like to share even more intriguing morsels from encounters other flight attendants have shared about the rich and famous. You might be surprised to learn that quite a few celebrities aren’t so nice off camera. But some things are best left unsaid and the experiences are not first hand and I would not want to gossip.
Yes I would!

y best friend Melanie and I decided to take a vacation for a few days in Cancun, Mexico. Cancun is basically one strip of gorgeous oceanfront hotels. The water is a beautiful turquoise color with thunderous waves. After taking a brisk walk along the beach, Melanie and I decided to get some sun by the pool. Our hotel had a luxurious pool with a three tiered lounging deck. We decided to grab a chair on the top platform.

The best part about lying out by the pool is, of course, getting a beautiful golden tan. The second best thing is people watching. While Melanie and I were checking out the sights, we were delighted to see a juicy specimen walk by. A man in a black thong sashayed to the pool bar. I was amazed! I had never seen a guy with his butt cheeks showing. He was proud as a peacock and full of confidence. We watched and giggled.

He gazed around the pool to find the perfect place to lounge and spotted a chair on the deck below us. We tried not to look
but couldn’t help ourselves. He shifted to the left and then to the right finally settling in on his stomach. To our amazement, his little “testies” plopped out of his thong. We laughed so hard we cried. He must have realized it was a little breezy down there, because when we looked again they were tucked away safe and sound.