@TheAirPro BLOG (5) 10/3/2012
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to @TheAirPro
Those Were The Days, My Friend, We Thought They’d Never End…
Those were the days, oh yes! …when we thought being an Airline
Hostess was such a glamorous job!
Forget for one instant that my brains were functioning efficiently
and fast, my eyes observing each detail and devouring life with the enthusiasm
of a young woman, I was also registering the difference an airline hostess
uniform made, not only for my self-esteem, but also for the rest of the world
watching me.
I had been trained, groomed, educated to become a …“bird “!
And the results showed…
No matter what or when or where, it was part of the character I always
became… each time I endorsed my uniform.
It had the perfect fit to my body, each part of it immaculate and
according to regulations.
Including the white cotton gloves and the crew case which had no
wheels then, unlike today!
The whole image punctuated with one last touch that I would add,
to show my own personality:
The smile, the expression on my face and eyes always alert and
ready to give away the intelligence of my spirit, THAT was my contribution…along
with my French accent, of course, when I spoke American-English.
A new life was beginning.
From Kansas City to New York, with NYC Kennedy airport for base to
TWA’s international operations, I had more or less decided that I would live in
Manhattan, as the most logical and practical thing to do and to begin with and Mrs.
Destiny answered :
After graduation, on the flight to NYC, it was then a group of
five excited young women, including me, knowing we had been assigned to TWA international
flights, sharing same base, had agreed upon finding a first place of living,
temporarily planting our identical brand -new beige Samsonite suitcases, and
rest in between flights.
Those were the days when finding a studio apartment to rent in
Manhattan was just a matter of going through the NY Times, let the fingers
navigate its real estate listings pages, and apart from the glamour which came
with the job, airline hostesses were considered serious and quite capable of meeting
their financial obligations.
We knew this was just a first phase that had to be lived through
because the demands made upon us, as fresh out-of-training TWA airline
hostesses, were strict.
Those were the days when mobile phones hadn’t yet made their
entrance… and a private address with a telephone number was mandatory…because
we were on a 24h. Stand-by duty.
This meant that we had to be available instantly, ready to dress,
in full uniform, with suitcase ready to go, in the space of two hours to step
in and replace another hostess who had taken ill! Without knowing the destination, for how long
and with whom we were to work with!
It was not difficult to find the ideal place, exactly the one that
would solve the urgent issue of our living conditions: a fully- furnished
including telephone and kitchenware, studio apartment, 40sq. m. in a building
on East 40th. Street, five minutes to the bus terminal.
Not a skyscraper exactly but still, on the 10th. floor
which was high enough.
Those were the days then….when five airline hostesses were to
share a studio apartment and had no time to grumble about its size…as there
were no alternative, right then.
No ceremony, no house rules per se…because no togetherness.
Those were the days we had to make do and behave like good girls …knowing
that privacy could exist. The consolation being that we would never be all at
once, together in the apartment…
On
Your Marks, Get Set, Ready…. FLYYYYY !
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