First Class Mom

Mother's Day 1969

On this Mother's Day, as usual, I think back to my loving mother who passed away only two months before we could celebrate her 90th birthday. Although mom and I had our share of tumultuous times, some of which are mentioned in my upcoming book, we also had some great mother-son experiences. Here's a photo of mom and I in first class on TW900 from JFK to Lisbon in May of 1969. I was already in a very congenial mood after several drinks, with my Camel regulars at the ready.

After arriving in Lisbon, I rented a car which was just a tad larger than today's Smart Car. I remember driving up a narrow street in an old section of town waving at the pedestrians who were flailing their arms at us. Mom remarked, "boy these Portuguese folks sure are friendly!" When we reached the intersection at the top, I realized that I had ignored the international road sign indicating One Way-Do Not Enter. We had a great laugh after that...

A Day in the "Not So Glamorous" Life of an Extra

Photo Courtesy of Dayton Daily News

If you squint and look real close you may see a portion of my left arm. Not quite the mark I was hoping to make on the big screen. Let me start from the beginning. My wife thought it would be fun to go to an open casting call for an upcoming Robert Redford movie set in the seventies era. We dressed up and headed to Xavier University with about 1,000 of our closest friends. (There's a reason these are termed Cattle Calls). After about a two-hour wait we had our picture and measurements taken, then sent on our way. I had almost forgotten about the whole ordeal when I got a call asking if I was available for a shoot May 1st. I initially asked if this was a joke but they assured me the call was legitimate. I arrived at 7am in Dayton for hair and makeup.

I expected to be a bank patron, which sounded pretty exciting since the movie involved a bank robbery. But things soon changed and I would now be part of a street scene in an old Ford Maverick. (I guess they didn't want me upstaging Mr. Redford.) My new task was to drive around the block of the bank passing Redford in an oncoming Blue Olds Cutlass. His car was equipped with a mounted camera on the passenger side, (but they forgot to put a camera on mine). We did this about 10 times with a lot of waiting around in between. About midday we broke for lunch which you are served after the crew has eaten, but I managed to jump right in with the regulars. I spent the rest of the afternoon back in the car waiting for my cues. I was beginning to feel like it was a remake of "Driving Miss Daisy". After about a 12 hour day we were dismissed signed our paperwork and left. After taxes I will clear under $100 dollars, not even enough to keep the lights on. But what the heck it was a fun ride! Now I'll just wait and see if my scenes make it thru editing. If we all get 15 minutes of fame I think I still have about 14 minutes and 59 seconds left on my tab. #theoldmanandthegun

Cuba - The Shortest Flight I Never Took

Harbor in Havana

It's no surprise one of my most requested travel presentations this year is my trip to Cuba. I've flown several million miles, but never once flown the short 90 miles from Key West to Havana. The travel ban had already been in force when I started with TWA in 1964. Fortunately, the travel restrictions were lifted, so my wife and I took a week-long cruise from Miami to three ports in Cuba last October. Cruising is not my favorite way to travel, but given the complexity of traveling in Cuba this was a great way to see the island without all the hassles.

It was a pleasure for me to disembark the cruise liner, Adonis, at the Havana harbor this past October. Back in 1961, while in Marine Corps boot camp in Parris Island, our DIs told us we may be "disembarking" navy landing crafts for an invasion of a Cuban beach. This, of course, was during the time of heightened tension between the U.S. and Castro's Cuba. Some 50 years later I feel very fortunate to visit Cuba as a tourist and not an active Marine.

Santiago de Cuba

55 Chevy

Cuba is like stepping back in time. It's a beautiful landscape that has not been cluttered with billboards, skyscrapers, neon signs, fast food, and all the trappings of modern day living. The people are very friendly and anxious to learn all they can about Americans. My travel audiences love the photos of old cars, and the sneak peek into a world forbidden for so long. My presentations are to retirement communities, so I imagine most of them will only see Cuba through pictures. For the rest of us I hope many will get to see the island in person. My next Cuba presentation is May 10th 7:00pm at the Evergreen community on Galbraith Rd.

Maple Knoll Presentation

Manuscript Completed!

(First Draft, that is)

Just turned the first draft of my memoir over to my editor, all 652 pages, double-spaced. Next comes the rewrite while Stacey is getting quotes for cover design and printing.

For me, and I expect, for many serious writers, the art and craft required in good writing can produce bittersweet emotions. I felt guilt while walking my dog, working out at the gym, or cleaning the bathroom, while aware that I was really doing so to postpone my difficulty in outlining the next part of my narrative or describing a specific setting.  Akin to that is the frustration involved in remembering clearly a past occurrence and the characters involved, yet describing it in words which will provide the reader with the same experience I had.  A good example of this was narrating an event which occurred in Dayton in 1971. I was set up to be the honored guest at a party attended by several hundred people, while posing as a Russian diplomat from the Soviet Union's Los Angeles consulate. This episode involved several locales and my interaction with a British con man, a deadheading TWA flight engineer and many minor characters.

Another vexing experience I occasionally encountered was the painful act of deleting a part which--after rereading--either doesn't seem to move the book along properly, or isn't likely to interest the reader that much. Often, these "deletes" may consist of more than a thousand words and several hours of writing. I must confess though, that some hoarding instinct has prompted me to move my deletes to a separate file for possible reconsideration.

But there's also the positive feelings I've experienced; like thinking of a smooth transition in a part that I'm writing as I'm doing something so routine as cutting the grass or driving to the store. The satisfaction of completing one's intended writing project, no matter how brief or lengthy--as long as it's done well--is pleasing to any writer.

I started this book in earnest two years ago, at age 75, and am already contemplating writing another. Hopefully, I'll be an inspiration to some of you in your fifties and beyond to begin your writing venture.

A Hollywood Birthday

Most folks who are asked what they want to do for their birthday, respond with a request for dinner at a nice restaurant, ask for a certain gift, or may just want a party. I decided what I wanted to do on my birthday when I read the recent amusing story of how some pranksters changed the famous Hollywood Sign to read "HOLLYWEED". No, I didn't want to deface the famous landmark, but yes, I wanted to hike the trail to its top. Having lived for four years in San Pedro, a ninety-minute drive to Hollywood, I was too busy partying in in the South Bay area to even think of hiking the Sign.

On Monday, the day prior to my birthday, Stacey and I were listed to take a 9:40am Delta non-stop from Cincinnati to Los Angeles. That happened to be the morning the entire Ohio Valley was shrouded in fog. Our intended plane was to arrive that morning as a redeye from Las Vegas. Because of the fog, it diverted to Detroit. Then it had a creeping mechanical delay, and eventually cancelled. We departed CVG 6 hours and 20 minutes behind schedule, arriving at LAX during a dark, rainy rush hour.

Okay. Enough about the negatives. The good news is that our AIRBNB studio apartment in the Hollywood Hills had a fantastic view overlooking Hollywood and downton L.A.

View from our AIRBNB

We were located at the end of a street populated by celebrities and others in the entertainment business. Our hostess showed us how to access one of the trails to the Sign, from only four homes down the street. It led us to the Brush Canyon Trail which is 6.5 miles roundtrip with an elevation gain of 1,050ft. The sign itself is at 1,578ft above sea level. Although the weather was overcast (hey, this is L.A. after all) we hiked to the area above the sign to take a few photos. Then we hiked the long way back, going south on Canyon Drive to Franklin Avenue, where we paused for some late lunch.  Early the following morning Stacey and I flew from Burbank, via Salt Lake City, back to Cincinnati. Spending less than 48hrs in Hollywood was a whirlwind trip, and I'm already wondering where to hike for my next birthday, Gibraltar???

We made it! Sign at the top of Mount Lee

Making Memories into a Memoir

First Graduating DCS Class 1971

One of the challenges writing a memoir in your 70's is that sometimes your recall of specific events starts to fade. Fortunately for me I get to revisit those memories at the annual TWA DCS (Director of Customer Service) reunion. Our 2016 reunion was held in San Antonio.  It was a pleasure reminiscing with the guys and gals who shared our unique in-flight positions with the airline. As we strolled together along the Riverwalk, toured the Alamo, or dined together as a group, we recounted stories of our experiences during that "golden age of aviation".

While listening to the narratives of my former colleagues, I recall some of my own similar experiences long forgotten, that gives me more intersting content for my memoir. There's a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in that group that just can't be found on Google or Wikipedia.

The above photo was the first DCS class to graduate (1971). I'm top row, third from the left (that's when I had a decent head of hair).  In the photos below Stacey and I stand under the 2016 reunion banner; and our group photo of former wide-body and narrow-body aircraft DCSs.  I think we've faired pretty well considering the many miles we have on us!

A New Life for TWA's JFK Flight Center

Photo Courtesy of New York State's official Website

There's a possibility-just a possibility at this time that the TWA DCS (Director of Customer Service) annual reunion for 2018 will be held at the new TWA Flight Center Hotel at Kennedy Airport.  This encouraging news broke during our recent reunion in San Antonio.  Groundbreaking just started on the new hotel and it's encouraging to see they are preserving the original architecture, not just demolishing and replacing it with something new.  The original flight center opened in 1962, famed architect Eero Saarinen's futuristic design was state of the art back then and now over 50 years later it will come back to life and be a center point of JFK once again.

Photos Courtesy of Curbed New York

 Fond memories come to mind as I browsed through photos of the abandonded center.

touring-saarinens-iconic-twa-terminal-before-redevelopment

Back in November of 1967 I attended a two-week TWA sales rep training program in a JFK airport area hotel.  One of my classmates, Mark, and I decided not to spend our weekend break at our respective homes in Los Angeles and Cincinnati.  Instead, on Friday after class we left the hotel for TWA's terminal, vowing to take the next domestic flight out no matter where it went (excepting our hometowns).  Yes we were willing to spend the weekend in Cleveland or Pittsburgh if the next departure was to one of those destinations.

As we rushed from the hotel courtesy car into the TWA terminal the mounting suspense was almost unbearable.  Approaching the front information desk, we looked up at the large Solari board

 Much to our delight, there, at the top was displayed FLIGHT 57 LAS VEGAS.  Neither Mark nor I had ever been to Las Vegas. In my upcoming memoir you can read how incidents occuring on our flight enabled us to befriend a high-roller who arranged for us complimentary front-row-center seats and drinks for the late show in the Desert Inn's Crystal Room.

Most passengers and visitors that toured the center were unaware that there was a special private VIP lounge behind the ticket counter which stocked complimentary booze and snacks.  Jackie Onassis was the last VIP I remember seeing there.

I'll also never forget the long delays at JFK during an air traffic controller slowdown.  We were 69 in line for takeoff, but fortunately I was sitting in first class as our Boeing 707 crept along the taxiways for two hours and forty minutes prior to takeoff.  During that time, we had drinks and dinner while taking in a movie.  In 1970 it was from JFK that I worked my first flight-to Los Angeles--as a DCS.  That was the start of an exciting four years working aboard TWA's domestic and international wide-body jets.  I can't wait until the day when I can walk those halls at the JFK flight center again, but this time it will be as a guest not an employee.

Memories of London Heathrow Layovers

Long Walkway Terminal 3 Heathrow

Upon returning from several days of hiking parts of the Cotswold Way with my wife Stacey, I thought it best to spend our last evening at a Heathrow area hotel. Leaving directly from Selsley would necessitate leaving around 3:00am, riding via train and coach, to check in on time for our 9:20am departure; besides, I wanted to see what the Skyline Hotel (now named the Skyline Sheraton) looked like, some 45 years later. Yes, I was among the first guests to stay there after it opened in 1971. The rest of the crew stayed at hotels in Kensington, but us DCSs had an earlier check-in, so we stayed at the Skyline. Some time ago the hotel was downgraded from its original five-star, to a four-star rating. The exterior basically remains the same. Inside, there’s now a much longer front desk at the reception area. Diamond Lil's Saloon is now a sports bar, however the rustic wood entry remains, a leftover from the former Yukon motif. The lounge at the indoor pool area, where I consumed many drinks while “chatting it up” with Nino the barman, other DCSs and some rather intriguing folks, has changed little. 

Skyline Hotel Bar 1971

No longer are there sunken bar stools (in the water) on one half of the circular bar. Nor are there any more live birds singing from the trees under the glass dome. The roving steel band is also a thing of the past.  Needless to say, there are no longer more than a hundred Pan Am “stewardesses” laying over there each evening—as were in the good ole days.
Stacey and I arrived at an empty bar, shortly after seven pm. The barman (who took our picture) told us he had a full bar earlier, before the patrons left for a group dinner. It was a rather haunting, but rewarding feeling, just sitting there with my wife—and my memories—with no other patrons or guests around. 

 Skyline 45 years later

The next morning, our Delta flight departed from Terminal Three’s gate F21. How very coincidental! Back when I worked TW761 to LAX, it usually departed from nearby gate 22. Now, as then, that end of the “F” concourse continues to be the longest hike from the main Terminal Three departure lounge. The two long walkways, with a moving sidewalk on one side, haven't changed one iota (see photo above). Now, passengers have rollers on their carry-on bags. Back in the early seventies, such a common-sense modification to luggage was mostly non-existent. Being too macho to rent a baggage trolley, I lugged my bag and flight kit all the way. Maybe that’s why I occasionally get spinal injections years later for pinched and slipped vertebrae.
My soon-to-be-finished memoir recalls numerous ‘eventful’ layovers at LHR, with many scenes taking place in the Skyline, and later at the Sheraton, further down Bath Road.

Rules Don't Apply (Jim's Version)

Me and some female passengers in a L-1011 Coach Lounge-Circa 1973

My wife and I recently saw Warren Beatty's new movie about Howard Hughes "Rules Don't Apply"  We really enjoyed the movie and I loved the scenes of old Hollywood.  It brought back a lot of memories of my time at TWA especially when I was based in Los Angeles.  I never personally met Howard Hughes. I started at TWA in 1964 and he had sold his interest in the company by 1961.  Actually, very few people ever met Howard including his closest business manager Robert Maheu (played by Alec Baldwin in the movie).  I had the real Robert Maheu's wife Yvette on a flight one time from New York to Paris.  I was taking a break in the first class lounge and I overhead a top executive with U.S. Steel ask her if her husband had ever met Howard.  You could have heard a pin drop, the air up there got so dense I thought the whole damn plane was going down. (Needless to say she didn't answer, this was a sore subject).  Howard's eccentric ways and legacy lived on in TWA for years.  A good friend of mine was a gate agent at San Francisco and one day Howard comes in with a couple buddies and just takes a Convair 880 to go fishing in Alaska, leaving him to have to explain to some 75 passengers why their flight had just been canceled. That would be like Richard Branson coming into SFO today and taking an Airbus A320. (Don't think that's ever gonna happen).

But enought about Howard. Watching the movie I couldn't help but think the old glory days of aviation are long gone, and how lucky I was to have experienced them first hand. This was a time before TSA, the internet, and cell phones live recording your every move.  Back then we were hand writing boarding passes, seats had plenty of legroom with an actual lounge in coach, and passengers were given a complimentary mini pack of cigarettes on their meal trays. Above you will see me with some lady passengers in a L-1011 coach lounge.  This was a typical day at the office for me.  The things we got away with would never fly today.  Between the boozing, bribery, and boinking I guess you could have called us the "Pirates of the Prime Meridian".  Looking back the "Rules Didn't Apply" even for a regular guy like me.

#RulesDon'tApply

The Storyteller in Me

So what possesses a man in his 70's to write a memoir?  Shouldn't I be enjoying my retirement fishing or relaxing out on the golf course.  Well I am enjoying my retirement by writing.  We all have a story to tell but not all of us are storytellers.  I have always enjoyed the thrill of a good story.  Making someone laugh or seeing the surprise in their face has always fascinated me.  I have even made a side business out of storytelling.  I put on travel presentations of my trips to retirement communities, not only does it put a little fun money in my pocket it helps keep my mind active and up to date on technology.  I believe retirement is about staying engaged in the things you love not sitting around waiting on the grim reaper.  So father time will have to wait a little longer, I still have a story to tell!

Me at a recent presentation on Florence, Italy

My loyal audience at the Lodge, I call them my cult following