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I'm often asked if I ever have famous people on my planes. Those who know me well know that celebrity status alone does little to impress me. While I have flown with many celebrities and many more very special passengers, there have been a few recently that I'd like to tell you about.
Roy Clark
Country music legend Roy Clark, famous for hosting the variety show Hee Haw in the early 1970's was a passenger on my plane last week, along with his entourage of band members and PR representatives. They had just finished a show in Jackpot, Nevada and were flying home to Tulsa via Salt Lake City.
I've been flying the Brasilia the last few days (a small prop plane with 30 seats) and so spending time with all of them was a luxury I might not have had if there had been more passengers. He had his banjo with him and so I told him if we got stuck anywhere he was in charge of leading the songs...he happily agreed, to the delight of the other passengers onboard though unfortunately it was a very short flight and we were on time! He was
just as charming and humble as one might expect him to be and I loved meeting them all.
They're sending a copy of his latest CD, which I'm very excited to receive. One of my favorite songs, Yesterday When I Was Young is a Roy Clark song. Incidentally, I downloaded the live version of this song off I-Tunes recently. If you get a chance to listen to it, I'd recommend it. The song is a classic and listening to him sing it now, at his age, is especially sweet. I remember watching the show at Grandma Lucy's house when I would visit her every summer and even then I loved that song.
My All-Time Favorite Passenger
I'm adding this little story to this blog because I absolutely fell in love with this little boy and have thought about him many times since I met him last fall.
His name was Ryan and he couldn't have been more than 7 years old yet by the end of our short flight from Lewiston, Idaho to Salt Lake City last October, I was fighting back tears knowing I'd probably never see him again. I could
Ryan (Lewiston, Idaho)
My favorite picture from my all-time favorite passenger!only nod my head and smile as the passengers exited the aircraft. They, too, knew why I couldn't speak and many of them reached out with a pat on the shoulder or a kind word of encouragement. As is often the case in my line of work, full planes and close quarters force a passenger familiarity sometimes whether we like it or not.
The Lewiston flight started out like every other ordinary flight. The passengers boarded the aircraft, each one smiling at me and saying something cheerful. I noticed Ryan as he walked up the ramp and he smiled at me shyly and gave a little wave. He was adorable and as he walked down the aisle toward his seat he looked back over his shoulder and smiled at me again. I was clearly a big shot in his world!
The remaining passengers boarded and I quickly went thorugh my pre-taxi and pre-departure duties. We were flying the CRJ 200, which means I was the only flight attendant onboard and I had a lot to do to prepare the cabin so I didn't give Ryan much thought until my final walk through the cabin before our taxi out.
from Aurora
A young passenger from California. Usually if I have extra time I stop to visit with the children on each flight and since Ryan was my only child on this particular flight I was able to stop by his row and say hello to him. I showed him where the flight attendant call button was, demonstrated how to use it and told him my name. I handed him a granola bar and told him I was very happy that he was on my plane and that he could call me if he needed me for anything. I would later learn the woman seated next to him was his Aunt. He thanked me for the granola bar and waved goodbye as I walked away.
I did not talk to Ryan again until the beverage service and when I finally got to his row I took his order and then began chatting with him while I poured his juice.
"We're going to see my brother." He said happily as he played with his toy cars.
"You are so lucky!" I said. "Where does your brother live?"
"Iraq, but he got hurt so we're going to see him in the hospital."
"Your brother got hurt?" I
from MacKenzie
A young passenger from Salt Lake City. asked, bracing myself for what I was about to hear.
"He got blown up by a bomb." He continued playing with his toy cars as silence fell over the cabin. I glanced at the other passengers who had obviously heard the conversation. Everyone was listening. Ryan's Aunt gave me a look as if to say 'he's handling it well but I'm not sure he fully understands.'
"What's your brother's name?" I asked.
"Michael."
"Well, you are a very good brother to go visit Michael when he needs you."
"Yep," was all he said as he zoomed his cars around on the tray table and drank his juice.
I finished the beverage service with time to spare and so went back to check on Ryan and his Aunt. Ryan was happy to see me again and excitedly told me that it was his first ever plane ride and he liked it very much. I learned from the Aunt that although Michael's injuries were severe, he would recover. He had been taken to Bethesda where he would remain for awhile and that the rest of the family was already there waiting for them to arrive. I thanked her for telling me
from Noah
A young passenger from Montana. and told her that I would keep Michael in my thoughts and would pray for him. (And I did pray for him many times, even though God hadn't heard from me in awhile and was probably up in Heaven saying "Who is this Debbie chick? Peter, check the books, do we have a Debbie listed anywhere?")
Ryan told me he was going to draw a picture for me and give it to me when he saw me on his return flight the following week. (Apparently Ryan believed I was the only flight attendant in the world!) I told him I wouldn't be his flight attendant the next week and told him that he would have a different flight attendant. I told him that was a sad part of my job because sometimes I met people I wished I could know forever and I always had to say goodbye. He started to cry and his Aunt put her arm around him to comfort him. I told him he had time to draw me a picture before we landed and I would really like to have one if he still wanted to make it. He said he would.
In Salt
from Abbey (Philadelphia)
Why use paper when the barf bag is so readily available? Lake City Ryan got to go into the flight deck and see the pilots who took extra time talking to him and they were able to take some pictures. As he left the aircraft he handed me my picture and with a quick hug goodbye, he was gone.
I never learned what happened to his brother but I keep the little picture Ryan made for me on the wall in my office as a reminder that even 7 year old boys can make a difference in the world. Because I met Ryan and learned about Michael (and ultimately thousands more who have been wounded in the war) I'm now supporting woundedwarriorproject.org.
will.i.am
What makes this story interesting is that we didn't know who this passenger was until the flight was over and he was already off the plane.
Founding member and frontman of the Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am is one of the biggest names in music industry today. Not only is he famous in the music industry, he has his own clothing line (called i.am) and he has recently been cast in the new X-Men movie. As a general rule, having a superstar on a
from Blaize (CVG)
A car named "Sue." flight does not warrant blogging about but in this case I thought you might like hearing this story.
One of my friends (Shelley) was traveling as a passenger and she was seated in the first row next to will.i.am. Across the aisle sat his business manager and another passenger. After I completed service, Shelley and I spent a few minutes talking about men and relationships and a current situation she's involved in and at the end of the flight Shelley finally asked me, “So what do I do?” and about one second later the manager leaned over Shelley to ask will.i.am what he was going to do and Shelley (thinking he was talking to her) turned to him and said “I don’t know, it must be a 'guy' thing.” Needless to say, the manager didn't know what to say! However, our superstar turned to Shelly and said, “Don’t go after him, let him go. Don’t ever go after a man. And besides, you have pretty eyes, you shouldn’t have to chase anybody.” It was pretty good advice...hopefully, she'll follow it! 😊
They spent a few minutes talking while I prepared the cabin for arrival. Will.i.am was extremely down-to-earth considering the level of his celebrity status. Also, it's worth noting here that he never told us who he was... and that alone says more about his character than anything he could have said or done.
Passengers were quick to tell us who he was as they were exiting the aircraft and when I Googled him later that day and discovered how famous he is I had to laugh...I have two of his songs on my Ipod and can't run without them! (Let's Get It Started & Pump It)
Gold Star Mom
On April 6, 2007, Joseph McSween, a diver for the United States Navy was killed in Iraq. He left behind a wife and two young daughters ages 2 and 5. He wanted to be a pastor someday.
Joe's mom was on one of my flights recently and proudly showed us all pictures of her son and the beautiful family he left behind. She was flying to Washington to meet with Joe's commanding officers and told us about the special ceremony honoring Gold Star moms she would be attending. She was very proud of her son. I was very proud of her.
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briasmom
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First of all, I hope everything goes well when you and Bria are together next week. I really envy you all your travelling and great adventures, but most of all, I would have loved to meet Roy Clark. I have always been a fan and love "Yesterday when I was Young". I am so glad you include me among your blogs fans!!