celebs of sorts

I often get asked if I've ever meet anybody famous on my airplane.  I do.  But when I am asked that question, I often draw a blank trying to remember different celebs I have met.   Anyway, not that anyone cares, but today it was him.

True Blood anyone?  He was so nice and pretty nice to look at too. 

In the past, I've also had:

Henry Winkler

 Who was so nice and traveled up and down the aisle talking to all the passengers.  He was traveling with his wife and they were both really pleasant flyers.

Ashley Tisdale (and her mom and dog)

 Oh and it was a MAJOR inconvenience for that dog to have to ride in coach!! PUH-leez.

Hines Ward

I love watching him play football because he is always smiling.  On my flight, all he did was sleep so I admired his BLING!!

Kim Peek

Who has since passed away.  He is known as the Rainman and he was amazing.   I told him my birthday and he told me all sorts of events that happened that very day.  The day of the week, the weather, the news, etc.  He was a wealth of knowledge.  He also may have had a little crush on the other flight attendant and when gave her a hug told her to, and I quote, "show me your womanhood" and then played a little game of grab a _ _!!  So funny!  The best part is, he let us hold his Oscar!

Stephen Covey

a well known "highly successful" author...ok, not that famous.  but still.  he was on my plane.

Chad Hymas

What?  You don't know who this is?  Did you not pay attention to that motivational assembly in middle school?  Ok, so again...not that famous.  But sort of.  Wall Street Journal thinks so. 
"One of the 10 Best Inspirational Speakers in the World" - Wall Street Journal
He has been on a few of my flights and each time he comes on in his wheelchair bundled up like he's entering a blizzard.  Beanie, blanket and all...it's not like it's cold on airplanes....oh wait!


Craig Bolerjack

Announcer for the Jazz...whoopty-whoop.  Nice guy though.

G.W. Bailey

Never watched it, but he is a character on the CLOSER.


Right now that is all I can think of but I know I am forgetting some.  I also know that I don't recognize half of the famous people that get on my plane.  There have been several bands, athletes and celebs that fly under the radar but there ya have it...That's who I've met on a plane so far.

This post is more for my own recollection than anything.  Sorry to bore you with useless information.

a very LARGE debate

Too Fat to Fly??

( a passenger on a recent flight)

Notice how the armrest is up and she is still overflowing a good 6 inches into the aisle.  

 The inside armrest is up as well while she is occupying some of her seatmates personal space too.

Has anybody out there listened to or read about the current and ongoing controversy of whether or not it should be a standard airline policy for larger people to pay more for their airline ticket which would allow them and extra seat?

This is a hot topic as of late!  

Have you ever been the lucky passenger sitting next to the biggest passenger on a full flight?

 

Ok, so you're petite and can endure it for a 2 hour flight without complaining and making a scene.

Now, WHAT IF it's a hot summer day, you're looking at a 5 hour flight and the overweight passenger is already sweating bullets when he/she boards and wearing less clothes than you'd wear on the beaches of Hawaii.  When he/she finds his/her seat (next to you) and lifts his/her arms to stow his/her bags in the overhead bins, you get a whiff that about knocks you over and you wonder if he/she has had a shower in the last month!  Then he/she sits down and can't help but spill over into your seat and possibly even on top of you (you have no choice but to sacrifice your arm rest at this point) and then he/she inadvertently touches your arm.  OH NO HE/SHE DIDN'T!!  oh yes, he/she did...  That sweaty, sticky, soggy, smelly passenger just made skin to skin contact with you.  Now how do you feel about it?  Probably aren't happy but you come to the reality that it will be 5 hours until this flight is at your destination so you try and make the best of it. 

At cruising altitude the flight attendants can barely squeeze down the aisle passed the larger person to do a beverage service.  You order water.  He/She orders CranApple (the drink with the most sugar-yes, even more than Coke) and cookies...then he/she asks the flight attendant, "can I have 2?  and some peanuts? one more bag please?  oh, and can I have the whole can of cranapple and a glass of water as well cause I need to take my (obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes) meds later on......Do you have any snacks for sale, I missed breakfast today" :( He or she orders M&M's and Pringles (for "breakfast")  (As the flight attendant is giving him or her their change they are thinking,"would you like anything else?  hmmm, how about a 3rd seatbelt extension and a heart attack with that?")  

At this point you have also sacrificed your tray table too cause his/hers won't come down and lay flat cause his/her belly is in the way and he/she has ordered way to much to hold so you let him/her put it all on your table.

I am not trying to be mean, insensitive, judgmental or anything else at all, This is just a scenerio that hits close to home and I am looking for some help.  What do you think I should do as the flight attendant on this flight??  Should this passenger be allowed to fly on a ticket that costs just as much as the person they are sitting next to even though they are taking up that persons space as well as their own?

I have read some of the articles, I've listened to newscasters opinions of it on talk radio, I've discussed it with my co-workers and many passengers (small and large)...the bottom line is that I deal with this issue first hand on an almost daily basis and it's hard to know how to handle each situation.  It would be nice to have a policy in place that would help everyone out.  It would save a lot of awkwardness and embarrassment on everyone's part.  Then if there are empty seats on the aircraft and the larger person could have had 2 seats without paying for the extra space in the first place they could get a refund for the extra they were charged as an insurance policy that guaranteed them the extra space they require.

It is a touchy subject, I know. Believe me, I KNOW.

Currently there is not a policy in place at most airlines.

 Should the airlines have a policy regarding this?

How would you handle this?

What are your thoughts?

 How is a flight attendant supposed to get a cart down that aisle not mention evacuate the aircraft with an obstruction like that??  It is not safe.

Flight Attending....

Wherever I go, whomever I'm with and whatever I am doing, one thing remains the same....I get a BAZILLION questions about my job!   Between my family, friends, acquaintances, store clerks at Journeys, AT&T and FedEx, and random curious passengers on my planes, I tell a lot of people about what I do and I always hear the same response:  "Being a flight attendant was always a dream of mine when I was younger!"   If that has ever been your dream, now is your chance--Skywest is hiring!  There are several recruitment events going on after the first of the year and one of them is in SLC so I thought I would spread the word to those of you who have asked me about it and are interested.  I LOVE my job and think SkyWest is a great company to work for!  If you've ever considered being a flight attendant, you should go to the recruitment event and check it out!  Check out the website Skywest.com/careers for more info about being a flight attendant and come fly the friendly skies with me :)

SLC InFlight Event- Thurs 1/21/2010 3:00pm

SkyWest Hanger

1129 North 3950 West

Salt Lake City, UT 84116

For more information regarding Flight Attendant Recruitment please contact: Diane Jameson at 801.258.4588 or farecruitment@skywest.com

Rain Man

Tatum with ("Rain Man") Kim and (his father) Fran Peeks

The original "Rain Man" was on my flight today and he was simply amazing!! He was with his dad and his Oscar!! I even got to hold it...talk about HEAVY! I haven't seen the movie inspired by him but I want to now. Get a load of this...I told him my birthday was May 12, 1985 and he told me it was Mother's Day, a Sunday, So and so (some famous person in England) got married that day but it only lasted a month, and lots of other stuff that happened that day that I couldn't even follow his train of thought cause he was rattling things off so incredibly fast. He told me my b-day is on a Tuesday this year and it will be on a Thursday when I am 65! He didn't even have to hesitate to figure it either! Then I told him I lived in PG and he rattled off some PG history that I was not familiar with. He told me that phone #'s start with 785 in this town and that Main Street turns into Carterville Road which turns into Columbia Street which turns into Center Street. He knows more about that town than I do. I was working with my friend Natalie and she is from North Carolina and she told him her area code and he said, "oh that's New Hanover County." He knew just as much about her town and birthday as mine. His mind is incredible!! He has an Eidetic memory and is such a sweet guy. He loved hugging us and just holding on for a long time and telling us what "beautiful ladies" we were. He was hugging me the whole time all the other passengers were deplaning the aircraft so it was a little funny cause they could barely squeeze by us, but he wouldn't let go! We had such a good time chatting with him and his dad that we took some (very low quality) pics on our cell phones with them as they were getting off the plane. They were so cute! His dad was so proud of him and they were such a pleasure to meet.

Barry Morrow has given Kim his Oscar statuette to carry with him and show at these appearances. They call it the "Most Loved Oscar Statue" since it's been held by more people than any other Oscar statue. Kim also enjoys approaching strangers and showing them his talent for calendar calculations by telling them on which day of the week they were born and what news items were on the front page of major newspapers. Peek has also appeared on television. He travels with his father, who takes care of him and performs many motor tasks that Peek finds difficult.

FALL

Fall is the best time to fly! Today on my flights I was mesmerized by the sweet views out the window. That's right, I was the flight attendant that just planted it by an empty window and stared out in Awwww for as long as I could!
I was loving life. The mountains were glowing with all the yellow, orange and red leaves reflecting sunlight off of them and the farmers fields looked like the most beautiful multicolored patchwork quilt in their different stages of harvest.


It doesn't get any better than this!

Matt and I have been a couple rides up the mountains to take advantage of the seasons beauty. The first one we were on our way home from Ephraim and we did the Nebo loop. I was totally enjoying it but Matt was freaking out the whole time cause our car's gas light came on at the bottom of the mountain but we kept going cause my car can run for a while on empty...but as we climbed the hill the miles till empty dropped. It started out at 40 miles till empty at the bottom and we thought we'd be fine cause there was no way it was a 40 miles loop till Payson so we didn't think twice and kept going. About 10 minutes after that we were about half way up the hill and it said 0 miles till empty! Matt panicked! I didn't even care though....there were enough people up there with 4 wheelers and trailers that were bound to have some extra gas to spare so we could make it down to the gas station. I have no shame and would have asked a perfect stranger for some help...but that didn't give Matt any comfort. I kept pointing out cool spots on the hills and he would be like, "oh, now that you point it out that is pretty sweet looking!" HELLOOOO!!! Earth to Matt, it is the prettiest time of year and you're not even looking out the window to notice!! He couldn't even enjoy it though cause he was just looking at the miles til empty indicator the whole ride. Anyway, we made it to the top and put the car in neutral on the down side and rode on fumes to a Payson gas station. Anyway, you will just have to take my word for how awesome it was cause we didn't dare stop and take pics with the whole empty situation.

We went on another ride with our friends Mike and Rainy up Provo Canyon by Rock Canyon and Squaw Peak. It was a sweet view too and I even have pics but I don't know where the camera is right now and even if I did, I am too lazy to wait for them to download! Sorry!

I also have Hawaii pics...but again, too lazy to post...for now. I think I am in a blogging slump!

I LOVE POLYS!!

I know this is a little bit weird for a post, but I just got back from work and I my heart is full towards the polynesian culture! I don't know why but for some reason quite a few polynesian people work at the SLC airport. They are some of the most humble and kindest people I have ever met! Every time I go to work I get at least one favor from one of them. They hold the door for me, they give up their seat on the bus for me, they let me go ahead of them in lines, they carry my bag for me, they help us clean the planes...and so much more. Most of them work on the ramp lifting heavy bags, dealing with bossy pilots and flight attendants all while working in extreme weather conditions of hot and cold and the whole time with a smile on their face.
This may seem like small things that they do to make my day...but you go to an airport and try to talk to a ticket agent...then you might understand why it's so refreshing to be around happy and respectful people.

Houston, we have a problem...

I had my first medical emergency/emergency landing on a flight a few days ago from Houston to Salt Lake. We had just taken off from the IAH airport and reached cruising altitude to do our beverage service. We (me and the other flight attendant) were about half way done with serving the plane when a passenger tapped him on the shoulder and said, "I think my wife just passed out." We quickly got the cart out of the aisle to the galley, he got on the phone with the pilots and told me which lady it was that I needed to rush back to. I got to her row and she was definitely out cold, just hanging limp over the armrest looking like she was dead! Oh my heavens, my heart was racing when I looked at her and realized she was pregnant!!! It wasn't just her life I was worried about, it was her baby's too! I look, listened and felt for breathing and she was barely there. I started talking really loud to her, while splashing a little water on her face and slapping her cheeks so she would come out of it. She finally did. She never opened her eyes, but she started responding to my voice with nods. I told her I was gonna give her some water to help replenish her fluids...she barely opened her mouth and I poured a few drops in. That little amount of water caused her to choke...oops! But at least the choking made her more alert and aware of her state. Then she started to wimper (I don't think she had enough energy to full on cry or she would have). Her husband wanted her to lay down (not so easy on a tiny plane with every seat occupied already) so we moved her four other young children all piled in the same row so their mom could be sprawled out. Her husband lifted her from the front and I lifted her from the back and we moved her to the open row. She was clinging to her husband and still not doing very well...she kept coming and going. At that point the pilots had started an emergency landing into Dallas. Then I called over the PA for any medical personnel on board to ring their call buttons. I found a nurse anesthetist and and EMT. I gave them an emergency medical kit on board that only licensed practitioners are allowed to open. It had all sort of meds, IV's and other supplies in it for them to use at their professional discretion. I also grabbed the O2 bottle and ran it up to them. They kept an eye on her breathing and heart rate with a blood pressure cuff and stethescope and kept the oxygen mask on her for the rest of the flight. I let them tell me what to do or get to aid them and then just started talking to the couples other four children. They were so young that it didn't even freak them out. They just kept asking, "Is mommy better yet?" I would just tell them, "she's not feeling very good right now, but they are taking good care of her and she will get better soon."
The other flight attendant was getting the cabin ready for landing and all the other passengers situated. We were on the ground in about 15 minutes (which is amazing for an unplanned landing). Normal descent starts at about 40-30 minutes before landing) but we were just in the perfect spot in the sky...right over Dallas so we basically did a nose dive down to the airport! We also had a very quick taxi to a gate where medical people were waiting to take her away. We got the family of 6 (and a half) off the plane very quickly and safely and then had to do some paperwork in regards to the emergency. We were on the ground for a little over a half hour and the woman was still not doing very well. The doctors that were taking care of her said that she was low on fluids, and her 6 month fetus had dropped in the perfect position during the flight to cut off her blood or oxygen supply and that is why she had passed out. I am not sure what happened to her after that cause we had to depart and continue on to the SLC airport for our 70 other passengers to make their connecting flights. I do think she will be okay though since the pilots were able to get the plane on the ground so quickly. I am thankful that it wasn't worse. And from other flight attendants stories of their emergencies on board it could have been! (knock on wood).

Our weekend with Jes...

This weekend worked a trip to Minneapolis with a full 24 hour layover there so I had Matt and Jeslie come with me.
Jes was pretty excited cause our hotel was basically in the parking lot to the Mall of America and she LOVES to SHOP!!! Matt wasn't so excited cause he had to miss the superbowl but I made him go just in case Jes couldn't get on the flights so she'd have an adult there to take care of her. It ended up working out that they both got first class on the flight there and back to I got to serve them!! And Matt was able to TIVO the game so he could watch it when he came back. It was fun having them both with me at work and I loved having Jes as my shopping partner. She got a bunch of cute clothes at Abercrombie and Hollister and I finally got a new pair of ahletic shoes...now I have no excuse for not working out!!!
Thanks Jes and Matt for a great weekend!!!

uhmmm, yeah...I still don't know how to flip the pic. sorry!

What's in a name?

I was walking down the aisle of the plane today and I faintly heard a woman start calling out something that sounded familiar but I couldn't quite understand what she was saying. As I leaned my ear in the direction of the faint calls I starting depicting it..."tatum, tatum, tatum, tatum..." It is not completely abnormal for a passenger to call me by my name because we introduce ourselves in our announcements so as soon as I realized she was calling MY name, I turned and i looked at the woman...to my surprise she wasn't looking in my direction at all...I guess she didn't need a coke or a pillow after all I thought to myself and kept on shuffling down the narrow aisle. But then it started again, "tatum, tatum..."
This time I walked all the way back to her and she was still calling my name out looking in the what appeared to be empty row beside her. As I neared and saw what she was looking at it was a two small children, one boy and one girl whose name was Tatum and she was ignoring her mommy!
I then sort of sighed, "oh, I get it" I turned to the woman and apologized for lurking around there seats. I explained that my name is Tatum as well, so I got confused. She was sweet and we both talked about how rare it is to run into another Tatum, and then we went on with our business...my shuffling down the aisle and her trying to get her young daughters attention.
When I was younger, I did not like my name one bit. I always thought that because it was different, it was weird. I always wanted a normal name like my best friend, Lindsey. Now that I am older, my name has definitely grown on me and I have come to love it. It is different but not unheard of. People always ask if I am named after the actress, Tatum O'Niel. Well, I think in a way you could say that. One of my moms students actually liked the name because of the actress and before I was born my mom had a baby guessing game...the students in her freshman english class entered the game by putting there guesses for the sex, height and weight of the baby on a paper...and of course, just for fun, some name suggestions. The students name was Chrissy Hatch who suggested Tatum and so that is who I am today.
Of course every name comes with its nicknames...(and this may be the reason I was embarrassed of my name as a kid)
Here are the ones I get from friends and little kids think they are especially funny when the light clicks and they start calling me them: Tator Tot, Pa-Tater (potato), Tator Cakes, and Tater Bug
From my loving family here are the not so loving ones: IrriTatum and AggiTatum (I got those cause I was always stirring up something with my little brothers and sisters.)
From my dad: Donakay Miss Chica Tay (from the movie Nell)
And from Matt and other fam and friends (my favorite): TAY
I love my name and I love meeting others who share it. However I have to admit that I am glad it is uncommon and a little weird!

Bad Day at Work...

I don't have many bad days at my job cause I love it so much but today just wasn't good. I was SO sick!!! Being sick is no fun, but when you add an airplane and passengers and all the smells both of those bring into my nostrils it makes it so much worse! It was a very good thing that I was working on a bigger plane with another flight attendant today cause I ended up in the lavatory and laying on the galley floor for most of the flight. I could feel there was no color left in my face. I was breaking hot and cold sweats and I couldn't even keep my eyes open or hold an expression on my face! It hit me instantly and I was down and out! Thankfully the girl I was working with was really sweet and just put pillows and blankets down on the floor for me to lay down in and a cold wash cloth on my forehead to keep my temperature stable! I am sure the first class passengers thought I was a phsyco! We were traveling fromo Houston to Chicago and it was over 2 hours in the air of this sick feeling! I was so glad when we finally landed cause we had an hour break when we got there. I was feeling like I was dying at this point! I was so weak and couldn't even carry my own bags around. The first officer was so sweet to take care of me and walk me to the crew lounge. On the way there, I finally got whatever was making me sick out of my system...right there in the middle of the terminal I found a garbage can and puked my guts out about 6 times. I instantly felt better...went to the crew lounge to rest and after the break flew up to Milwakee...I hate being sick at work!