Common Sense??

I was visiting with a few of my husband's cousins the other night while I was home in Utah. As we were sitting outside enjoying what very well could be the last of a handful of beautiful summer nights, I shared some of the silly things that I have observed as a Flight Attendant regarding passenger behavior. Brad's cousin made the most profound and Oh-So-Truthful statement that I have heard in a long time. She simply said, "Common Sense is not all that Common."

We shared a few laughs over that statement, but as I have become cognisant of the behavior of the masses, I am more and more convinced of the magnitude of that simple statement! I ran across a great tribute to our old friend and just had to share (I only wish I had come up with this!)

Obituary of Mr. Common Sense

By Rick Archer

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:


1.Knowing when to come in out of the rain


2.Why the early bird gets the worm


3.Life isn’t always fair


4.Maybe it was my fault after all


Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).The health of Common Sense began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6 -year- old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.


Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Tylenol, sun lotion or a band-aid to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.


Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.


Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I’m A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Update on My Life

Have you ever gotten up one morning and felt like your life has slipped away from you in the blink of an eye? Such is the story of my life these days. Perhaps it's because I have severely altered my life-style due to a new job that I took just a few months ago. At any rate, this is my attempt to recap the past two months and see if I can catch myself up!

Most of you know that I have a background in the aviation industry. This is an industry rife with change, adventure, exhaustion, exhilaration but mostly inconsistencies. I used to love to say, "The only consistency in the airline industry is IN consistency"...and that's the absolute truth! Having said that, let me attempt to bring you up-to-date on a few things.

1. I am now flying for SkyWest Airlines which is a large commuter airline with contractual agreements with Delta, United, Alaska and soon, US Airways. Bottom-line, we fly their "puddle jumpers" to their smaller routes.
2. I am based in Portland, OR (PDX is their city code).
3. I live in a hoarder house with I-don't-know-how-many-other-commuters, but the important thing is that I share a CLEAN and ORDERLY room/bathroom with two other women whom I have grown to love adore.
4. My family is still in Utah...away from me:'(
5. I love my job, HATE the commute.

OK, now you are up-to-date.

Living in Portland has been an adventure in and of itself. I have become a master at navigating train routes around this beautiful city. The people are...well, let's just say, diverse (to say the least). The geographical terrain is spectacular and overall, the people are very nice and accommodating...but it's not home...

The base itself is fine. I am now trained to fly on the jets as well as our beloved prop plane (Brasillia EMB-120 turbo prop) whom we affectionately call, "The Bro". The Bro is the smallest plane in our fleet and by far the loudest, bumpiest aircraft I have ever flown on...having said that, I ADORE this plane! Crazy?? probably, but I feel in total command and every flight is an adventure. This little workhorse is amazing. Apparently it is very fuel efficient and highly effective on our smallest routes of around 250 miles or less. It's a funny little guy with it's very own personality. When we take off, the aft of the aircraft seems to rebel a bit and sway back and forth until it eventually gives in to the fact that it MUST follow the forward of the aircraft. It is L.O.U.D...in fact, it's so loud that I wear earplugs while working it.

Just the other day, I was boarding in Klamath Falls, OR (yes, we fly to ALL of the hotspots in the world with this little guy...) anyway, I was boarding when a gentleman walked onboard with his head completely down...I'm talking his chin was almost touching his belly button...not because of shame or embarassment, it was out of necessity. This man was 6' 8" tall and he was entering a metal tube of about 5' 9" in height for a fun 1 hour experience. I promptly moved him to the exit row (where there was extra leg room for his giraffe-like legs) to which he was extremely grateful.

But here's one of my favorite features of The Bro that I just had to share:

It's true, there's a window in the lav!! Awesome?? Yes, when you're in the air, but when you're on the ground...not so much!

Why?? No one knows unless it was engineered by someone with a sick sense of humor and somehow slipped through the Brazillian gaps of design. It's a great conversation piece and seriously, there's no other feeling like when you're peeing at 28,000 ft...try it sometime...!!

In all seriousness, I love, even adore my job. My co-workers are great, the company is great and my passengers are great, but there's no place like home. I have had my transfer in to SLC since the nano-second after we graduated training. Who know when it will actually happen, but it will and when it does, I will be jumping up-and-down like no other...in the meantime, I will continue to ride the MAX (PDX rapid transit system) live in my clean room in the hoarder house and love my sweet roomies to death. Life is too short to worry about the details of the things that we have no control over. My family is fine, my *Littles* are thriving and life is great!

You Is Kind, You Is Smart, You Is Important

It's not often that I recommend a movie...in fact, I try to avoid doing so because I am all too keenly aware that tastes vastly vary and, quite honestly, there really haven't been that many movies lately that I have really liked. With that being said, I do want to talk about a new film that was released this past Wednesday called, "The Help".

You have probably seen the book around. As a Flight Attendant, I see numerous passengers perusing the pages of this Best Seller and decided to pick up a copy after several glowing reviews. Boy oh boy am I glad I did! I am only half way through the book, but have devoured every word as I read.

This past Wed. was my 7th wedding anniversary and since I was stuck in Portland without my beloved Hubs, some of my sweet housemates and I ventured downtown for lunch and a movie. We had all been excited about seeing The Help (well, not so sure that Ryan the 26 year old hottie pilot was excited, but he was a good sport!) so that's exactly what we did. We all LOVED the show. I adore this movie.

I took my Hubs today to see it (yep, that's twice for me) and it was even better the second time! Without giving too much away (I HATE when people do that...just sayin') I wanted to share a few things that touched me.

The story is about the lives of black maids, circa the early 1960's, in Jackson, Mississippi and how they raise numerous white children while someone else has to raise their children while they work. Abileen is one of the main characters. In the show, she is the maid for a young mother who has very little attachment to her pudgy yet adorable and sweet toddler named Mae Mobley (such a darling name, in my opinion). As oppressed and overworked as Abileen is, she is totally resigned to her position in life. She knows that this is all she can really hope to be and she takes her job very seriously.

But most of all, she LOVES and adores Mae Mobley and is genuinely concerned that the little one grows up to be a good girl and NOT become emotionally detached, even devoid like her mother. Several times throughout the movie, Abileen gets right on down to Mae Mobley's level, takes her pudgy little cheeks in her hands and tells her the following (as the little girl repeates her words): "You is kind, You is smart, You is important".

I was absolutely touched at the simplicity of those words and how important they had become to this innocent little girl. I got teary when she repeated them back. It melted my heart.

After the credits, those words played over and over in my mind. I thought of the sheer power a mantra like that can have in someone's life if they truly believe and trust in the words. We live in a world rife with so much negativity and I truly believe that the majority of problems with people are the result of a low self-esteem. I have suffered with that very issue throughout my life and battle esteem issues regularly.

Don't get me wrong, I have wonderful, amazing parents who did their best and instilled in us values, morals and helped us with our self-esteem, but I can't help but wonder how much I would have benefited and how different my life would have been if I had had someone look me in the eye and have me repeat, "I is kind, I is smart, I is important" everyday of my early childhood.

I see a huge lack of good self esteem in so  many teens. Many are searching for their "identies" and most rebel against any kind of authority. Many hate themselves and many hate the world. It's so sad as I see many who are "bought" by their parents when all the kids really and truly want is time and even discipline with their parents (though they would never admit it). They have all the latest electronic gadgets, the hottest designer jeans, shoes and whatever else, but they have very little on the inside reminding them of their innate goodness. It breaks my heart.

So now I have a new resolve to really remind all of my *Littles* how special they really are. They are and will be facing challenges that I never could have imagined at their tender ages and the better they think of themselves, the stronger they will be. And like my *Littles*, I need to be reminded that I too is kind, smart and important...

Opposition In All Things

**I apologize in advance for the disjointed nature of this post...but it is from the heart.

In Asian philosophy, the concept of Yin Yang is used to describe how polar opposites or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world and how they give rise to each other. There are many nautral dualities that we witness everyday: light and dark, black and white, male and female, hot and cold and on and on. In the western world, we have a much less eloquent term of simply, "Opposites" or "Opposition".

Whatever you want to call it, it's the very same concept which simply stated, is that Yin Yang are complementary opposites that interact within a greater whole as part of a dynamic system. Basically, everything has an opposite! Most opposites represent a positive and a negative and whatever the case, they ebb and flow at their own pace over time.

Recently, I embarked on a new journey during what are supposed to be my "Golden Years". I went back to the world of aviation and began flying again as a Flight Attendant for a large Regional Carrier. The aircraft are completely different from the huge "Jumbo Jets" (Wow, that term is a blast from the past...do they even use that term anymore??) that I used to work for. I work jets with 70 or less passengers each. I even work a Brasilia EMB120 Turbo Prop that is noisy and naturally bumpy even during the calmest of air patterns. At any rate, I love it! I have embraced the job. I know that time is a benefit and am waiting for the day when I can transfer back to the base that is only 45 min from my home and actually sleep in my own bed when I'm not working. But for now, I am in beautiful Portland, OR sharing a house with about 15 people!

So what does this have to do with opposites? Just about everything!

1. I am living about 780 miles from where I WANT to live.
2. I am working during what should have been my retirement years.
3. I am NOT with the most important people in my life aka, my family.
4. I have had to relinquish my seats on several committees (temporarily) that I simply LOVE serving on.

BUT, there are countless blessings and "positives" (or....wait for it...OPPOSITES) that make things bearable.

1. I live with some amazing women who have become life-long, even eternal friends.
2. I appreciate my husband and children SO much more.
3. I am doing what I love, and since I need to work at this juncture in my life, who could ask for anything more?
4. I am providing medical/dental benefits for my family that have been extremely costly up to this point.
5. I am providing amazing travel benefits for my family and I am able to see parts of the country that I have never even thought of visiting before!
6. I am safe, healthy and happy.

Life throws opposition at us each and every day. I was on a flight today commuting back to my base city. During the flight, the Flight Attendant made an announcement and asked the entire plane to give a round of applause to the men and women serving in our armed forces. I was reading my book and felt kind of bugged that they disturbed me with any kind of announcement during a most intense and gripping part of my book! I obliged and added my applause to the rest of the crowd.

We landed in Boise. For those of us continuing on to Portland, we were asked to stay on the plane but told that we could spread out and get a more comfortable seat if we wanted to. I moved from the center to an aisle seat, started up with my book again, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the undeniable fatigues of a young soldier who moved up to a seat just in front of me. I felt humbled.

I started thinking of how blessed I am to be able to "hop" on a plane every 4 or 5 days and within two hours, be home with my sweet family. How flying into the Salt Lake valley and seeing the majestic Wasatch Range of mountains causes my heart to leap and immediately, the comfort of "home" engulfs me.

Opposites are abundant everywhere. They serve their purpose and they help us remember how incredibly blessed we are. Seeing that stoic young man in his desert fatigues anxious to see his precious family for just a short leave, reminded me of all that I have.

So as I live in a new place which seems to be opposite of what I love and know, in many ways, I am thankful for the opposites that give my life meaning and color it with purpose and inspiration.

Painful Lessons

When I was 8 years old, I had a shiny pink stingray bike sporting a groovy banana seat, white basket with several mod colorful flowers and tassels streaming from the handlebars. I loved this bike! I rode it in the sun or the rain, it didn't matter, I was an 8 year old kid.

As is typical with kids of this age group, we had the brilliant idea to make a bicycle jump in the only vacant lot in the entire neighborhood which happened to be across the street from my house. We all contributed to the construction of our latest entertainment of the day and then took turns trying it out. Now I'm sure it was only about a foot off the ground even though it seemed to be five feet high in our young idealistic minds. But either way, we were thrilled and ready to try it out.

We all lined up and waited with eager anticipation. One after another...each excited neighborhood kid conquered the "daring" jump followed by squeals of delight and success. My turn finally came and I remember the excitement coursing through my petite body as I walked my precious bike into position and waited for the "all clear" sign. It came...I was on my way.

As I rolled down the slight hill gaining the necessary momentum for catching "big air", I saw the coveted platform getting closer and as I carefully lined up for the jump, at the last possible moment, my little sister stepped in the path. In a split second, all of my reflexes jumped into action and I veered off course, steered my stingray handlebars to the right and missed the "sweet spot" causing me to hit the edge of the jump, fly over my handle bars and skid on the pavement chin first.

I clearly remember the searing pain that immediately shot through my head. I had laid out my face on the asphalt leaving a trail of blood in my wake. Everyone ran to my side. Kids fled to find an available parent and I lay there bleeding, holding the side of my head as my chin pain immediately transferred to severe ear pain.

The rest is a bit of a blur, but I do remember being in the doctor's office getting stitched up and remember hearing him tell my mother that my wound was clear to the bone requiring internal as well as external stitches. I remember crying and I remember hurting. AND, I remember the sheer thrill of the ride!

Thirty six stitches later, I walked out of the office with a brand new scar that would last for the remainder of my life. It's a jagged, somewhat faded scar that has sparked many conversations over the years and each time I re-tell the story, the intensity of the pain returns, if only for a fleeting few moments.

Just like my accident, life is just like going off a bike jump. No matter how well you plan, things come up at the last moment that can cause us to veer off course and end up with results that are the polar opposite of our best laid plans. In a split second, things can happen and produce a completely different outcome.

Not always is the end result "painful" but it is usually unexpected and it always throws us off course. In my life, I have come to see that the majority of my best laid plans have ended up not as I had originally anticipated. Most of the time it's OK and I have learned to adapt. I have, many times, even ended up happier with the "new " result in many cases. The trick is, to hang on to the handle bars until you come to a complete stop, take the lumps and remember the consequences of the outcome so as to never repeat or endure it again.

I love the movie "The Lion King". There is a great scene where the wise shaministic baboon Rafiki is walking along with the young Simba. Suddenly Rafiki wacks Simba over the head with his walking stick to which Simba cries outs, "Ow, why did you do that?" Rafiki responds with, "Get over it, it's in the past." As they continue to walk, Rafiki takes yet another swing at Simba to which this time, Simba cleaverly ducks out of the way. Rafiki proudly tells him, "See, you've already learned!"

Like my 8 year old bicycle accident, I learned that day that life is full of unanticipated obstacles. Things come up at the last possible moment and if we aren't prepared, we will hurt. But we get over it, the pains and scars fade, but the lessons will remain and life moves on.

Am I Just Plain Crazy?!?

As I have been busy in Portland trying to find a place to live, finding the crew lounge and figuring out where to shop, eat and whatever else we need to do to survive, I have hardly had a chance to think...BUT, I have had a chance to read a few of my favorite blogs and that, my friends, has returned me to my reality...well, whatever my reality is these days...before I go on, I want to share this blog address with you. Check it out, you won't be sorry http://www.lefolauga.com/ .

Since I have undertaken this HUGE life-changing career at this late stage of my life, I have found that I have, on occasion, found myself questioning myself with expressions like, "What on earth were you thinking?" and "Seriously, did you undergo a lobotomy and just not remember the procedure?" OK, just to set the record straight, I am THRILLED to be back in this crazy industry and anxious to get things going...BUT...

A lot has happened. If not for the companionship of two sweet new friends, things would be very different for me right now. These two amazing women and I have ridden the MAX (light rail), tromped in the rain looking for shoes to work in and found a crash pad to live in. They are my sanity right now and I am ever grateful for them!

While I was in training, one of our instructors was totally into inspirational thoughts. He shared one with us from the famous German writer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. I was cleaning out my flight bag this morning when I ran across it...it couldn't have come at a better time:

“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates a climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make a life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of fortune or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal in all situations. It is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a person humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.” ~Goethe


What more can I say?

The Perfect Time

Well here I am in beautiful Portland, Oregon. Yes, this is my new domicile with SkyWest Airlines! Of course I want to be based in Salt Lake City because that is home, but I'm here until my transfer comes through and that's that!

I have blessed to be here with a dear friend, Jen. We met in training and somehow, we just clicked. We are sisters at heart and together we have found a crash pad, conquered the MAX (light rail system) and found our crew lounge, gates and other necessary info in order to become functioning Flight Attendants in PDX (that's Portland!)

I read a great thought on Facebook by a darling gal whom I have known for years....and yes, she's a Flight Attendant too (but for another company). This thought resonated with me:


"There is no such thing as the perfect time or the perfect situation. It is through our efforts that we try to make the perfect situation and through the time it takes to get there that we learn and grow and are refined into people who a little closer to being perfect."

I have found that way too many people wait for "the perfect time" to find peace and happiness. Life is ever changing and I personally feel that the only way to get through it with any sense of success, is to find happiness and joy in each moment. Now is the time to be happy because in one second, "now" will be gone and it will be wasted if it's not spent in joy...easy to say, harder to do. I'm a work in progress, but, as an eternal optimist, I choose to make the most of my time here. I've lived long enough to know that "right now" fades into "a long time ago" in the blink of an eye!

So as I have embarked on this new adventure in what are supposed to be my "Golden Years"...(REALLY?!?) ...I am trying to make this the perfect situation and, at the very least, make the very best of it. It's beautiful up here...I have a safe place to live...I have a great job...I have a wonderful family waiting back home for me...and I fly FREE!!

Stitches and Smiles

So it finally happened. My littlest *Little* fell off a chair and gashed his forehead open Friday night. I was sitting in a cold, lonely airport in San Francisco when I received a picture text of the little guy's wound. Aja was a real trooper! She realized that this is probably the first of many visits to the ER with this little fella whom I so affectionately call "Bam Bam" (for all you who remember the Flintstones...) He is the roughest, toughest little man and his escapades have finally caught up to him.

What impressed me the most was the smile on his precious little face as he waited to be stitched up (they ended up gluing his wound back together.) Here he just gashed open his head, bled profusely, and most assuredly had some sort of a headache, but he managed to eek out a sweet smile and even said "cheese" to his mommy when he saw her hold up her phone to take his picture.

See, he has no concept of the future. I'm sure that in his little mind, he knew he would be just fine because nothing can impede his concept of life as a 20 month old. As I mentioned above, I was stuck in the SFO airport with air conditioning blasting like it was 110° outside ( it was 58° F outside) and I was SO cold that I actually bought a blanked while I was at the airport...I was tired and I was cranky. I had just come off of a 3 day trip from hell rife with extreme weather delays, flight cancellations, reflows (reroutes) and even survived a hail storm that took our plane out of commission! All I wanted to do was GET HOME! I was miserable and yes, I wanted to throw myself down in the middle of the concourse and start crying.

(Glued back together!)
So when I received the pictures of my smiling *Little* with his "before and after" shots, I realized that I too would be just fine. I WOULD get home and I would eventually get some sleep. A sweet little 20 month old taught me that our futures are in our hands. No, we can't control everything that comes our way, but we can smile while we wait for our "stitches".

My New Chapter

I'm Baaaacccckkkk! And now I am officially a SkyWest Airlines Flight Attendant!

It has been a grueling 30 days of training and I SURVIVED! You would think that being a Flight Attendant for a major airline would have been advantageous for me when going to a regional carrier...and in some cases it was, but seriously...I got my butt kicked!

Training was intense, long and tiring. BUT, the payoff is so great. I finished my IOE (Initial Operating Experience-the airline world is rife with acronyms...it's their own language) which was another complete blog post in and of itself! (Seriously, it was the trip from hell...but I survived and I passed!) I feel ready to get back into the aviation world and anxious to really begin my career. All in all, I'm glad I embarked on this new journey. I have made some amazing new friends who will be in my life forever! THAT is a blessing!

So I head to PDX (Portland, OR) tomorrow, my new domicile. Hopefully my transfer to SLC will come through and my time in the beautiful Pacific Northwest will be short-lived. If not, then at least I am "stuck" in a beautiful state that is rich in culture, diversity and great seafood! Life is full of changes and even though there is a bit of trepidation on my part and maybe even a little fear of the unknown, I did survive NYC when I came out of Delta's training many years ago...

So please keep checking back. I will post more as I can. My schedule is guaranteed to be a bit crazy, but I have missed the blogging world and look forward to sharing some of my adventures with all of you.

New Adventures

I am out of town until July 13th. I'm only in SLC, but am currently in a training class with SkyWest Airlines and they have put me up in a hotel. I didn't say much to anyone because anything can happen and I am not hired until I successfully pass all of the required training.

As most of you know, I was once a Flight Attendant for Delta Air Lines. I had a very lucrative career with them and will always be grateful for the amazing things that experience taught me. In many ways it has served to be advantageous while undergoing this training...but in other ways, it's a bit of a disadvantage. Only in the sense that I have to learn the "SkyWest way" of doing things. As each day passes, I am more and more impressed with this company.

The instructors are all great! They are knowledgeable and very friendly. All of them have less than 10 years experience in this industry but that hasn't slowed them down one little bit! It is actually encouraging to me because it shows that growth within the company is very attainable.

I am completely impressed with the professionalism and seriousness they take their jobs. Seriously, Flight Attendants are SO much more than Pretzle Princesses! The extensive knowledge they need to know in order to provide the best safety, security and customer service is unbelievable.

I feel so blessed to have this opportunity. I will not have much time to write (if any) for the next 3 weeks. Please check back after July 15th and hopefully I will be able to get back to speed with my blogging!