European layovers are rough for flight attendants based on the west coast. No matter how you play it, you’ll miss one night of sleep each week. With a short 24-hour layover, you have two strategies: When you get to the hotel, you can nap for a few hours. Then, draggg yourself out of bed and go…
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Planes are packed, masks are off, and I am back to international flying! Spring 2022 feels a little bit like winter 2019. Well, not quite, but it’s getting there. We’re still not laying over in China. We still have to Covid test before working flights to Tahiti, Taipei, and Singapore. Oh, and we’re also not…
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Surprising fact: Grand Forks, North Dakota (population roughly 30,000), has the 12th busiest airport in America. How is that possible, you wonder? Because one of the nation’s top aviation schools is located there. My son thinks he wants to become a pilot. And that’s why I’ve recently traveled to this small, cold, hard-to-reach town. And…
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Where in the world is Paula? In a 2nd/3rd grade combo-class. My girlfriend and former colleague (I used to be a teacher) asked me to substitute in her class yesterday. I said, “Sure!” I like kids. They tell you the craziest things. Ask you the craziest things. Rub their hands over your pantyhose because they’ve…
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I think I may have met my soulmate in Central Park last week: a little French bulldog. I never even caught his name because I was on a sensitive and formal phone call when we met. Let’s call him Pete. I was sitting on a bench, taking my phone call, when Pete walked by. He…
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Manhattan’s Lower East Side was a neighborhood of immigrants at the turn of the century. Look familiar? I’m sure you recognize images like this. It’s part of our collective memory. Immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Italy, Russia… were welcomed by the Statue of Liberty, processed on Ellis Island, and then crowded into tenements. Maybe some of…
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The New York City Library collects more than just books. A LOT more. Their collection consists of 56 million items. Some of those objects are featured in its current exhibition entitled: TREASURES. The exhibition is well named. A stroll through this free, rotating exhibit feels like a mini trip to the Smithsonian -only more international. The…
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My airline still publishes a monthly inflight magazine, found in your seat-back pocket. Doesn’t that seem like a relic from a more glamorous past? Every month, this complimentary magazine features a new destination “in three-perfect days.” That’s great, but who has three days? Recently, some friends asked me to help show their out-of-town guest around…
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Sandcastles: Over the past month, I have watched an old man in a speedo repeatedly build a sandcastle. After the elements and kids destroy it, he starts again. His tan skin is leathery and saggy, and there’s a lot of it… on account of the speedo. He makes multiple trips to the ocean back and…
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I love writing lists. It’s my favorite thing to write. After I’m gone, my family will undoubtedly find lists all over the house, tucked into every drawer and book for months and years to come. Little love letters letting everyone know what to do next. But lists aren’t just a helpful tool to organize your…
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