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A SkyWest Birthday by Jerry Cates
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She had just spent a weekend with her fiance in Las Vegas. He had suggested- several times- that they get married while there. She declined that invitation, because she had her heart set on a wedding in a city they had previously discussed. When she called back to the cockpit, it was to tell the captain that his little joke was almost true... Then she turned her identity badge over and showed us the picture on the back. It was of her father, Michael, who died several years ago. She takes him with her wherever she goes. Her eyes sparkling, she related something her fiance had told her in Las Vegas. "Every time you hit an air pocket while flying, that's your dad scolding you for not marrying me right now!" A few minutes earlier, as she was relating this to another passenger, the aircraft suddenly rocked back and forth from air turbulence. "Hey," the passenger had said, "that must be your dad speaking..."
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As Yvonne got closer,
I copied the floppy disk with the photos already taken, and wrote
"Happy Birthday, Yvonne" on the disk label. A few minutes later,
when she pushed the beverage cart to our row, I handed the disk to her
before she could say anything. My hope was that she would take it easy on
me once she realized I came bearing gifts.
Whew! She smiled... A big one that told me I was off the hook. We introduced ourselves. Yvonne thanked me for the photos, and I told her how to view them with her computer. Then she began to tell us what she had already told the other passengers as she was serving them. Her birthday was two days ago. That part of the captain's remarks was at least close to the truth. But this wasn't the first week of her marriage. She was still single. Engaged, but single...
Her eyes misted a little as she talked about her father. She was the 6th of 12 children. Her mother passed away when she was eight, and dad raised the family on his own. Now, when she has a problem, or feels lonely, she pulls out the picture of her father and it brightens her day. Obviously, he raised her to be a "What you see is what you get" kind of person. No doubt, he'd be very proud of his little girl if he were alive today. "He was very special," she said with a sigh. "I'll bet you were pretty special to him, too," I replied. "Yes- but he tried not to show it," she said. "He loved all his children equally." We were sitting near the back of the aircraft, so there were not many passengers yet to be served. She took care of them, and before long it was time for our aircraft to begin its descent into Calgary. Yvonne announced preparation for landing over the intercom, and we settled back in our seats. Go To Page 3... Back to Page 1... Bugsinthenews |
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