And The Overwhelming Winner Is...

Many thanks to those who partook in our poll. I appreciate your many thoughtful comments. This was my favorite design. I'm glad so many others agree. We've been working on the cover designs with a couple in Long Beach, CA. They have fond memories of TWA, and I feel they captured that period in commercial air travel when flying was still glamorous.

By the end of the month we anticipate having our Advanced Reader Copies (ARC's) printed. Stacey has already arranged for me to attend book events in the Greater Cincinnati area. I'm really getting excited now!

When Air Travel was Golden

Part of an Ad, From TWA Movie Clips, Vintage Photos on Facebook

Recently, the writer of an opinion article in the New York Times claimed there was no such "Golden Age of Air Travel," Much of the article dealt with economic factors cited by the Airlines for America Industry Trade group. He mentioned how the cost of airfares decreased (adjusting for inlation) since the "Golden Age". There was no mention though of the stagnation and decline of disposable income over those years for tens of millions of Americans. He also cites how many itineraries took longer than today, due to slower planes and multiple stops. I must say that our 747's in the early seventies, flying from Los Angeles to London, arrived just as fast as those today.

The Golden Age of Air Travel--as I define being during my time with TWA (1964-1974)--was not an economic era, but a cultural era. In this sense, it was the most flourishing period in the history of commercial air. Folks excitedly anticipated dressing up and getting on a plane. Smoking wasn't a big issue then as it is today in planes, restaurants, etc. Ample seat comfort and legroom was standard in coach, unlike today (see my earlier blog post). The transition from prop to jet was much more remarkable than the addition of WI FI and visual entertainment systems in today's cramped jets. Back then, folks on board didn't expect to be constantly entertained or occupied. They read, slept, knitted, and wrote letters--in cursive!

L-1011 Coach Lounge

Cross-country wide-body planes offered spacious coach lounges, offering passengers a place to stop by for a drink and some conversation. When was the last time you mingled around the bar in coach? Most flights over 90 minutes provided coach passengers with a hot meal, accompanied with real silverware.

Did one pay more then-adjusted for inflation? If so, so what. You definitely got more than you get on today's flights. Cheaper transportation in cramped seats was always available with Greyhound and Trailways.

Computer systems have vastly improved (?) since the Golden Age. Today, if you're flying on the lowest coach fare, the computers will mandate your seat assignment at the airport, possibly separating you from your family members or travel companions. It's all about the airlines' bottom line--not your comfort. And during a prolonged computer outage--something increasingly common these days--an airline suffers complete paralysis. So does its passengers! For one thing, there are no standard hand-written tickets capable of admitting passengers on board (as we had in the past).

Standard TWA Ticket

Most of my soon-to-be-published memoir, Up, Up and Astray recalls my life during that exciting period. It was fun writing it, and it was a real blast living it!

Is Air Travel Coming to This?

Operation Solomon-Photo Courtesy Patrick Baz/AFB/Getty Images

As if American Airlines hasn't enough customer service headaches along with other legacy and low-cost carriers, it chose to add more salt to its passengers' wounds. AA is decreasing the seat pitch in "steerage" class to a miserly 29". On flights with 30" and 31" pitches, I still get my kneecaps bruised by the person in front reclining an inch or so.

Normally I won't recline my seat in coach if my flight is two hours or less. After boarding a longer flight, I'll usually recline my seat first, just to make sure the person behind me didn't clip on a "knee defender." To assume the crash position with today's seat pitches one only has room to bend one's head and pray.

Not to be outdone, United Airlines announced (in a whisper) starting in May, it will increase some of its triple-7's present 9-across economy seat config to 10-across.

see UA 10-Abreast Seating

This will be troubling for those up front in their lay-down beds. How can they sleep, over the moaning and screaming of those wedged-in behind, fighting for armrest space?

Oh, For Those "Good Ole Days"

Wanna weep? Check out the snippet below, probably from an edition of TWA's Skyliner employee magazine in the late 1960s (courtesy Airlineguys Tweet)

What has been your experience in flying coach/economy? Have you had unpleasant experiences with fellow passengers? Do you see safety concerns in your perceived ability to get to the evacuation slides in time? Feel free to post your observations or suggestions.

If you enjoy reminiscing about these airline tales of yore, please share this blog with your friends.

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.