Confessions of a Hostie 3 Read Online Free PDF Page B

inevitable consequences, then it's
open season. If a passenger is so rude they upset everyone in the
vicinity, then it's open season. If they put a meal tray on the
floor, putting crew and other passengers at risk of injury, then
it's open season.
    It is not just on the plane; I see acts
worthy of 'open season' everywhere: If someone takes 105 items into
the supermarket's cashier lane clearly signed eight items or less , then it's open season. If
someone spits in the street, queue jumps, is racially or sexually
inappropriate, swears in front of children...
    Societies have rules. Airlines have rules.
Not every one of those rules, if broken, is going to have someone
end up in a prison cell, yet there are certain guidelines and
manners which should be afforded to our fellow man.
    A friend of mine once told her boyfriend:
Treat me with respect and I will be your friend forever; disrespect
me and I will annihilate your world.
     
    I am a strong, independent woman; I make no
apologies for that. If I have an opinion I will give it. I joke
that the only time I am helpless is when my nails are drying, yet
the rest of the time I am primed and dangerous. Most of my fellow
female hosties are independent women. They need to be; it is a
physically and emotionally-demanding job and lifestyle. That is one
of the reasons I am enjoying my conversations so much with Kathy. I
don't see a 65 year-old woman wearing a little too much make-up to
cover her wrinkles. I see a vibrant woman full of life, a woman
with a strong sense of where she has been and where she is
going.
    To share in someone's wisdom is more
educational than sharing in someone's life. Most people talk about
what they want and what they do. I can be one of those people. I
wish I wasn't. Kathy talks about what she has learned and how she
is enjoying life more because of that knowledge.
    We should all be more like Kathy. I know I
should be.
    She's been doing this, sometimes monotonous
job, for 40 years and yet I have not heard her complain once. I
don't need to ask if she enjoys the job because I can already tell
she does. She is highly intelligent and not intimidated by the
workload. This flight is stress-free and easy. Even so, I can tell
if someone is lazy or not. Kathy is hard working.
    Sometimes I work with crew with some type of
physical issue. They'll usually tell you - some sooner than later.
Occasionally someone has a legitimate physical injury or
restriction limiting their ability to work in the cabin. It cannot
be major or debilitating. Ours is a physical job: there are heavy
weights to lift, lots of bending and stretching, much pushing and
pulling, and constant walking (and running) - all in an
oxygen-starved piece of metal hurtling along on an angle to make
every step feel like you are walking up a mountain. I hear so many
twenty-something new recruits complain about the physical burdens
of the job, yet Kathy, being 40 years their senior, says
nothing.
    I really like her.
     
    I tell Kathy of my plans for the following
morning; breakfast with the orangutans at Singapore Zoo.
    'I haven't been to the zoo for, well, it
would be 20 years' she says, 'and I have never had breakfast with
the orangutans. Are you thinking of going on your own?'
    In a heartbeat I invite Kathy to join me
in.
     
    Several crew talk of having a drink by the
pool after we arrive at the hotel in Singapore. To my surprise
Kathy is one of the first to accept. It takes little persuasion for
me to also say yes. It is not so much about the drinking, but the
chance to unwind, to be social, and to spend time with someone
intelligent and wise.
    I don't drink much, however I drink often. It
is a lifestyle attracting sociable people. We don't have to drink,
yet most of us do. As office workers often get together over a few
drinks at the end of a long week, we too get together after an
arduous day. We are at a nice hotel with a superb pool area and, as
crew, we get discounted drinks. It is understandable why