Blog-TOWER OF BABEL

So, I recently flew on a Challenger 604 out of Bedford MA. This aircraft flies 450 hours of charter and 150 hour part 91. This aircraft flies without a flight attendant for 91 trips so I showed up 2 hours prior to clear the aircraft of debris for an 8 passenger trip to Malaga, Spain.

I removed 23 baskets of various sizes, 15 silver trays, 43 small ramekins’, 40 plastic ware rollups from caterers, 30 sugar packets, 24 bottles of diet raspberry Snapple, 10 small cans of Clamato-juice (do they still sell that? and if so, where?), 13 bottles of Red Stripe Beer for Jamaica, 4 large bags of Beef Jerky (BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU WILL NEED THAT MUCH SALT), 12 cans of Mountain Dew, 10 waters with Arabic writing, 25 little jams, 17 extra mayonnaise. You get the drift.

Unless my passengers are going to eat some really weird condiments, there is no need for all of this. It becomes a hindrance, and sometimes a safety hazard. Much of what I mentioned was near safety equipment. It is not the pilots fault; it is just a general "gunk of stock" from many cabin crews, getting on and off. If the 91 owner does not use this stuff, it would be best to take it off and put it in the hangar. Trying to work around all this excess can only slow down a meal service and hinder your sanity and need for order.

Corporate Air Crew giving back to the community makes an awful lot of sense to me. It is three fold.

When we fly, I think we feel sort of unattached, without a lifeline. We are in a sense, care givers and service personnel and we have to anchor ourselves and reconnect to the city or town we live in when we get home. So why not go down to the soup kitchen and help out? How about fundraising for a cause you are deeply moved by? How about road races to raise donation for your favorite charity? Or of you are pet prone, help out at the animal shelter and bring your kids, they could certainly learn from giving as well. The senior center is always looking for rides to and from. Volunteering has helped me develop a deeper sense of family and what I am really made of. I have been a Big Sister, aid for Meals on Wheels, volunteer for Life Haven, a homeless shelter for women and children, the Partnership Project (1993-95); a Yale funded program for the mentally ill, and Goodwill clothing drive.

We usually have a lot of downtime especially if we are freelance, and the dead months like January, April and August. Volunteer organizations will take whatever time you have to give, they do know care what you wear, who you know, or how much money you have. They are down home nice people. So pick up the phone and make a difference. Stop whining that your life is going nowhere, that you are bored, that you are getting fat, that you do not have a boyfriend/girlfriend as well that you have credit card debt, you have a pimple, you have car trouble, you do not like your family, and your pax are rude and cruel. Make all that go away by SHOWING UP AND NOT GETTING PAID BY MONEY, BUT BY THE SPIRIT THAT WILL DEVELOPE WITHIN YOU.

You make new friends that will take you to another level. You cannot talk shop with them, you have to talk about real life issues and become oriented for others who need all things. Volunteering can take you to new heights and areas of the world. We as crewmembers, make excuses to put off classes we want to take, church that we want to attend, and seminars that can give us insight. We are always waiting for the next flight, in a constant on call holding pattern.

Make a difference. Pick up the phone. The world needs you now.