Blog-TOWER OF BABEL

My son brought home a lovely virus 2 weeks ago, which I caught, but remained in denial. Moms do not get sick, boy, was I dead wrong. It was a high tech virus with many faces of disturbing symptoms. One day, was bone chilling shivers, the next day headache, next day... stomach cramps and vomiting, the next day sore throat and mucus, just kill me people. So where did I go wrong? I had not been sick for 12 years like this. I used to do preventive maintenance while on the road and it worked.

In this viral climate of colds and flu, I will share what I know. I take 1000 mg Ester-C® daily, 500 mg Oil of Oregano-which boosts your immune system, (Astragalus and Echinacea never worked for me), Vitamin B12 for stress, A good women’s multivitamin that contains the daily FDA requirements, 500 mg of Omega-3 fish oil, and White Tea tablets, which is the best antioxidant to date.

Since I cannot stand the taste of red wine, I take red wine capsules for heart and to keep cholesterol low. I wash my hands as many times as possible. That is why my son keeps getting sick, grimy school buses, sneezing classrooms, limited time in the bathroom, Rush..Rush...Rush. Sometimes he comes home and his hands are sooty little paws!

I also try to sleep at least 6 hours per night and work out 3 times a week. I also take wheat grass tablets daily, I am NOT brave enough to do shots of it. This is great if you do not eat enough fruits and veggies.

But I have to say, I did not do all this before I got my sons evil virus. I am not sure airborne capsules work, but they cannot hurt.

I was talking to a few corporate flight attendants over the last few months, and there seems to be a trend presently, of serving corporate passengers on trays. In the Air Force we used trays, due to the large amount of passengers, but that is where "the tray" was happily ended and safely forgotten. I have an aversion to tray service for the following reasons:

1. When I was very poor and in college, almost sleeping in my car, I was taken to restaurants that greeted you with a tray. Sizzler, Mr. Steak, Bonanza, rest stops... it implied, no service, get your chewy grizzled leather like mock steak yourself, loser loser loser….
2. I worked, (was not a resident) in CT Valley State Mental Institution, in Middletown, CT. The 40 womens' in the locked ward all got trays. This style of service, even in Psychiatric hospitals, has changed.
3. My mom, who is in a rehab facility, gets a tray. A tray, for me, is a reminder of "you are sick" < "you may be mentally unbalanced" or "I am broke or poor". Even though I may have been all in the former sentence, I bristle at the fact of the tray. If I was a Lotto winner, there would be no tray service in my large expansive adobe home overlooking Caneel Bay in St John's, equipped with a handsome, trayless staff of 8 model types.
   When watching a movie about prison, what do you see? A lot of men with trays.
4. You drop and tray, you drop the 7 or 8 things on it. Plate service, you have lowered your chances of being a klutz. Table service is elegant. No contest.

So, why would a passenger on a corporate jet want tray service? Any thoughts?

Blog By Besty Dwyer, Flight Attendant, NE area


WHY DO WE MAKE 450.00 A DAY?  How about the day from hell of a corporate flight attendant.

G-V December 26, snowing Teterboro, 7 am go, it is now 930 am. pax are on the plane.....14 pax to Caribbean, 2 dogs , 4 children under the age of 5, there is one set of twins. You are a fill in. the plane CANNOT TAKEOFF due to inclement snow. They are meeting a yacht in St Thomas.

There are all sorts of catering for this trip breakfast and lunch, none of which makes any sense, also no lemons, no milk, caterer does not answer -- everything is in micro containers, you only have convection. The order was placed by the company.

Hotel rooms at final destination end with HUT.

The coffee maker is inop. There is a post it on it that say -- does not work!

Airplane has no coke, no diet coke, the pax are rifling thru the dvds, the dvd played is inop --there is no post it.

The mayo and mustard condiments are the same color.

There is no wine opener.

The per diem is 25.00 international

The only snacks aboard are potato chips for Russia circa 1998.

The CEO’s wife keeps leering at you -- calling you GIRL.

The a/c cabin is hot, 97 degrees, you are sweating bullets, there is an elderly pax who is deaf and yells, you wish you had ear plugs, you only have Evian water, and BTW -- they work for coca cola, and only drink Dasani.

The children have markers.

You have the wrong cabin shoes on and only one contact, the other one popped out, heavens know where, probably in the croissant tray.

Your belt has broken.

The pilots have had it with this day and they are starting to lose it.

The nanny hands you a hot diaper. The kids are chanting are we there yet? 20 times, the pressure is mounting.

One of the pax says the toilet does not flush.

They were told there was direct TV.

The dogs ate broccoli prior to boarding.

They were told there were beds on board.

They only way to get thru this is to know these 2 things --They will deplane and you will go into crew rest in the next 18 hours. Even a hut can be a home.