“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.” | Pico Iyer
HAPPY 2016! I can’t believe it is already September!!! What I can’t believe even more is how much my life has changed in the past 9 months!
At the end of 2015, I applied to be a flight attendant for American Airlines and was offered to attend Flight Attendant Training to kick off 2016! I attended training in Dallas, Texas at the end of February which lasted a lengthy 6.5 weeks!! It was by far the most challenging, rigorous, and intense job training I have ever experienced!
We began training on Sunday, February 29th… and for 13+ hours a day, 6 days a week, for 6.5 weeks, I survived along with 55 other classmates! We started with 62, and sadly lost 7 classmates due to various reasons.
In the 6.5 weeks, we were professionally trained by the best in the business! We were examined daily on everything ranging from airport codes to the smallest of details on every different type of plane, the different labeling of seats, galleys, lavatories, sections of the plane, etc.! We had to know where all emergency equipment is located on each and every plane, how to use various emergency equipment, and how to react to every situation you can possibly imagine!
On April 13, 2016 I graduated from American Airlines Flight Attendant Training in the Class 16-07 and was sent to Chicago to live and work out of Chicago O’Hare International Airport! The irony of it all, is that my grandmother graduated from American Airlines Stewardess School in the Class 50-07 where she did her training in Chicago!
In training, I had to test my training skills on two different training work trips, where I worked alongside veteran flight attendants on day trips in order to get a real feel for the job and learn how to do the job in action. The most ironic part of this experience, was getting assigned a training trip from Dallas to Palm Springs, where my grandmother who worked for American Airlines, lived.
Therefore, my mom drove down to Palm Springs to quickly pick up my grandma, drive her to the Palm Springs Airport, and were fortunately allowed to get past security thanks to the American Airlines ticket agents printing out fake tickets for my mom and grandma so they could meet me in the terminal for a picture with them in my uniform!
It was truly the most special moment, as my grandmother cried tears of joy, as she was beyond happy to see me in uniform working for her beloved airline. Here is the post I shared after getting to see my mom and grandma:
“BEST MOMENT EVER getting to see my beautiful mother and grandmother on my work trip to Palm Springs!!! My grandmother, Gigi, flew for American Airlines 66 years ago… and today I’m just beginning!!! Life is truly amazing and you really can go after what you want and live your dreams!!
HUGE THANK YOU to my mom for making this possible and to American Airlines for printing tickets for them so they could get past security!!!”
Once I graduated from training in Dallas and moved to Chicago, I was put up in an airport hotel for 5 days until I had to move into a place of my own. Therefore, I had to find a place within 5 days, which was extremely stressful, but was made easy thanks to Chicago’s best relator, Stefanie Campbell! She drove me all over Chicago, showed me to the best properties within my price range, and I was able to move into my dream condo on the lake on my 5th day in Chicago!
For the past four months, I have flown all of the United States, and have even snuck in a few trips to the UK, with layovers in both Manchester and London, both places I had never been to before!
There is no one who has been prouder of me for becoming an American Airlines Flight Attendant other than my grandmother, Gigi, who tragically passed away at 1:30 p.m. on June 19, 2016 in Palm Springs, California while I was in between trips in Chicago. We had no idea that she was going to pass at this time, otherwise I would have been by her side. I immediately dropped what I was doing in Chicago when my mom informed me that my grandma was being rushed to the hospital and that she didn’t think she was going to make it. I booked the next flight out of Chicago to Los Angeles to spend a few days with my family before I had to return back to work.
My manager, Nick, was the most supportive during this extremely tough time, sent the most beautiful flowers on behalf of American Airlines Flight Services in Chicago, and gave me much needed time to be with my family.
We celebrated her life on August 6, 2016 in Long Beach, California, which turned out to be an extraordinary service, celebrating her extraordinary life. At her funeral, I said the following:
“Welcome Aboard American Airlines Flight 07192016 to Heaven
Your Flight Crew For This Flight Is:
Carole Faye White Breithaupt Thurston Thurston Breithaupt
From Palm Springs to Heaven Our Flying Time Will Be For All Of Eternity At An Altitude of 86,000 feet.
Heaven Weather Conditions Is All Sunshine With a Temperature of 100 degrees F and 37 degrees Celsius, just the way Gigi liked it.
Your safety is important to us. Please pause for a moment to give your attention to your most recent flight attendant in the family,
Gigi’s youngest grandson, myself.
Whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all…
Galatians 6:10
My connection with family and friends gives me a sense of belonging.
We are in each other’s lives for a reason. We learn from one another,
and we share our love, support, and appreciation for each other.
Just as musical notes balance each other in harmony, so do we balance
one another as we move in accord. While each person is unique, his or her
gifts, talents and personal experiences complement those of others.
I am also part of a universal family, the family of all humanity.
Opportunities abound for cooperation and understanding among all
people. As others come into my awareness, I look for and find the good in each one.
I reach out with support and appreciation, in love and harmony.
Exactly one year ago right now, I was on the open road with Gigi, who was breathing with the assistance of an oxygen tank, make that 20 oxygen tanks, while blasting Dean “Deano” Martin, in order to get us through a 15 hour drive from the Mile High City of Denver to Gigi’s favorite, Sin City!
This may have been the most difficult experience of my life, having to endure driving through Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada all in one day with a struggling Gigi who I was concerned would stop breathing while in the car. I had to make frequent stops to check on her oxygen tanks, to make sure they hadn’t run out of oxygen, and when each one did, I’d have to pull over, tell Gigi to hold her breath while I had to unplug her umbilical chord, and quickly swap tanks. This went on for 15 hours until we finally reached the Stratosphere in Vegas, where I had to slowly walk her through the casino while having to tell everyone smoking in our path to the room elevators, to hurry and steer clear as my grandmother was coming through with oxygen tanks that will explode if smoke gets too close.
I’m not going to lie, this experience was extremely exhausting, overwhelming, stressful, and scary at times, but without the obstacles we faced it would have been the phenomenal adventure that it was. We had so many incredible moments together that I am so lucky to have been able to experience with my grandma that I will cherish for the rest of my life. This experience was just one of many in recent times that really built an extremely special bond between my Gigi and I, that nobody else can say they shared. We have always been extremely close since the day I was born, but over the last 5 years or so, I have really grown as close as one can get to their grandma.
I will forever fly high with you, Gigi, and I will always wear your wings with love, honor, & pride. You are my angel and I pray you will forever be in peace and happiness. I’m forever grateful for being so close to you throughout my entire life and got to go on so many memorable, never forgettable adventures with you. I wish I could physically be by your side and play one last game of rummy tile with you… but I know you will be with me in spirit forever. I love you, my marvelous, darling, Gigi.”
Today, I go to work each day with my grandma in my thoughts, to help motivate me to keep going and never give up! She taught me to always hold me head up high and there is no struggle or challenge that I cannot overcome. I will always do my best to maintain a positive attitude and go into each day with a smile on my face.
I look forward to sharing my past, present, and future travel experiences, and hope you enjoy reading about them!
Welcome aboard!
TROY MUENZER 