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My Favorite Things: Gifted

The gift of a great view in flight

I was working the beverage cart and while pouring a drink for children to my right, the gold pin on the jacket lapel to my left caught my attention. I commented on how nice it was after realizing it was the NASA logo. The man was going to Houston so I asked if that is where he worked. It was. I mentioned that I just moved from the Bay Area, so I met people going to the Ames Exploration Center often. At the end of the flight, he called me over and presented to me 2 very nice NASA stickers. I was impressed.
Just before Thanksgiving, I met a woman in first class who had a solar dancing turkey and after doing a dance for her in the aisle, she gifted it to me. I acted like she was trying to give me hundred dollars and not a dollar store item.

I have in my collection a United States flag pin given to me by a very nice veteran of WW2. The interesting thing about this man was that he was again a passenger of mine a month later. I was so glad I was wearing the pin he gave me, as he took notice.
Flight attendants are often gifted with things. Mostly, it’s chocolate or some other candy. Occasionally it’s coffee and even more rare are items like donuts or on one flight, a passenger brought for the crew 2 boxes of savory empenadas from Lima.
Penguin gets a gift

Many years ago, just before Christmas, a passenger on my flight worked for a candle maker and he gifted everyone, including the pilots, small scented candles.

Living in my bag for nearly ten years is a gift card to Starbucks. I never go to Starbucks; I don’t enjoy the aroma in them and I’m never been interested in their products enough to stand in line. One day, I’ll have to use it for some tea or a scone. Even though it’s not been used in many years, I greatly appreciated the thought.
We love our little gifts, but honestly, I’m not one to easily accept gifts from strangers, which is odd being that I went to Burning Man for seven years; a temporary society that exists on a gifting economy. And I do love to give! I used to give gifts for the whole family every year at Christmas, cousin’s included. If I ever win that damned lottery they keep shaking in front of my face, I’ll be giving things away all the time! Rare would be the dinner tab not picked up by me!
But gifts don’t always have to be something tangible. Some of the best gifts I receive on a regular basis are the compliments. When a passenger stops before walking off the plane and thanks me for such great service, or compliments the crew in the back, or admires my announcements, shakes my hand, smiles and tells me that was one of the better flights they’ve been on, it sends me to the moon! About the best gift I can receive is a note to my supervisor about the great service you received.

Inside the Houston Intercontinental terminal
Giving is so much fun and I do enjoy receiving little gifts and treats while I’m working. Giving is a great way to get noticed and ensure that the crew stops by to say hi and sees if there is anything you may need during the flight. Whether for the holidays, a ploy to be recognized by crew, or just a simple way of saying that you understand us, flight crews love receiving little gifts from passengers. It’s my favorite!
(PS; And if you insist, I’d love a new Mercedes in silver!)
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My Favorite Things: Peopletainment

Reflection of a plane
I used to date this woman who used to love to going out to eat. Who doesn’t? The odd thing about it was that we would sit in a booth or table in silence, giving one another odd glances and from time to time laughing out loud.
There is a routine I once watched by one of my favorite comics, Lewis Black. He talks about hearing someone say the dumbest thing ever heard, “If it weren’t for my horse, I’d never have spent that year in college.” I completely identified with this hilarious routine. (You can hear it on YouTube.)
Dinner entertainment: eating too fast
So my date and I would sit and listen to conversations at various eateries. I never heard anything as dumb as the comment about the horse, but we heard quite a few interesting things. And as much as I love to listen in to strange conversations, I love even more just watching people. I can do it in malls and parks, but airports are about the best places.
For one thing, you can watch people from all over the world. Different cultures converging in one place is usually a recipe for fun. You see an empty gate room full of seats and one person in a corner enjoying the space. Another person will enter the area and take a seat within spitting distance, ignoring all the other seats available. Normal people wouldn’t go and sit right next to someone in an empty area!
Another fun aspect of airport people watching is that there is normally a degree of stress involved. Packing, getting in a car, fighting traffic, parking, lugging the baggage, a nagging wife, 3 screaming kids laden with toys, and their strollers and car seats, standing in line to check bags, going through security, finding your gate and then having it change at the last minute, but then the gate isn’t just across the hall, but in another terminal (it happens often in Houston). It’s great entertainment to watch the meltdown and terse commands to their family members!
I love the elderly who don’t understand that the only one hard of hearing is themselves. They can be talking to the person next to them, but loud enough for me to hear them 40 feet away.
I love trying to figure out people’s story. I know I’m probably wrong, but who cares…it’s MY entertainment.
The main terminal in Lima

Recently, I watched an employee drive up in a golf cart and approach the jetway. An aircraft had just arrived and the people had yet to emerge. I noticed that she had a sign in her hand, obviously waiting for a top-tier flier, ready to whisk him to his next flight. At some airports, Mother Airline employs a fleet of Mercedes and they deliver them from one plane to the next on the tarmac. I guess in Houston, they only get a golf cart.
A man finally emerged with two young boys en tow, about 11 and 14 in age. The man and employee took a seat in the front and the two boys sat in the rear. What I found fascinating was that the boys were not enamored with personal electronic devices. Looking around at other kids, they were all busy with phones, game devices, DVD players and laptops. These young men were interested in watching what their father was doing, learning how to interact, watching how this important man dealt with things. “Good parenting,” noted my flying partner, who had been observing the same thing.
The terminal in Houston
In most airports, flight crews have a lounge in which to hang out in, or, as we might say, “hide.” It’s a great place to pull paperwork for a flight, work on trades or schedule bids, take a nap, eat a bite or make phone calls. Most flight attendants make a bee line for the lounge and only emerge for their flight at the very last minute, savoring the time away from passengers for as long as possible. But often, I find myself heading to the gate early, just so I can enjoy some people-based entertainment provided by travelers. People watching at the airport…it’s my favorite!