No to Kindles in Airplane Lavs

As I've written about before, there are lots of rules on airplanes. There has to be. It's a tiny space, crammed with people who don' t know each other, aren't familiar with the procedures, are ready to blow at any moment. 

But this weekend, several new P.A. announcements came to mind. "Ladies and Gentleman: As there are 257 of you, and 6 lavatories, it is never a good idea to settle into the lav with a KINDLE. There will be a line up of people, angry people, who, when you finally open the door with said kindle in hand, 20 minutes later, will want to choke you. You are not in your bathroom at home, which 1) doesn't have blue fluid in the lav, and 2) is usually bigger than a closet (and smells way better, let's hope). " Announcement number 2) "Ladies and Gentlemen: Although I just spent the last five minutes going over our service and all the products available during this flight to eat and/or drink, I will gladly repeat them at every row, and even every person if necessary. But, when I do repeat that whole, REALLY long list, please listen to it. After I go through that list for the 100th time that flight, please don't then say "do you have buttermilk?" Really? Have you been to a restaurant, or frankly, anywhere, lately, that has buttermilk? Do they even make it even more? Isn't it awfully bad for you? Hasn't it been outlawed in most states? So, in conclusion, please, no kindles in the airplane lavs. And, no buttermilk has ever been served on an airplane. Ever. And hopefully, never will be.

Labor Day

While Stephen Slater brought a lot of attention to our career, today is a good day to thank all those who labor on holidays to get us where we want to go, who give up time with their families to serve us. Working with the public is an incredibly demanding profession. I've always thought it should be a requirement for graduation from high school. I think kids would learn more from one shift at McDonalds than three months of Calculus. 

 Remember, the person serving you in a restaurant, airplane, shop, etc. is a real person with real problems and concerns. Please treat them kindly, respectfully, like you would want to be treated. No snapping, poking, pulling or yelling. Right after 9-11 someone pulled on my jacket to get my attention, and I thought I'd go through the roof. I turned around and practically decked the guy, and all he wanted was a beer. A friend of mine tripped and fell down face first in the aisle when a passenger had a carry on sticking out too far. Luckily, there was a man right behind her to help her up. Or not. He leaned down and said "Can I get a Coke?" We also have a lot of people walk on our airplanes and say "Smile." OK. Let me put a frozen, fake smile on for 8-10 hours. I feel better already. Some passengers bring us chocolate, and one particularly lovely woman one Christmas brought us homemade chocolate chip cookies and a card. You don't have to go that far, of course. If you really want to make someone's day, today or any day, all it takes is a smile and a "thank you for your service." It makes all the difference.

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