And You Are...

Dear Shawn,

Soon after I transferred to Houston, I flew with a guy who looked familiar, and he thought the same of me. I wasn’t sure when we had flown together, or where, and that is quite common with this job. Of course, I can forget people easily, until we talk more and something reminds me of having flown with them in the past. I can fly with someone for a four-day trip, have multiple meals together, work the other side of the cart ten times, and two weeks later, I have no idea what their name was. Since running into this guy that day, we see one another from time to time, and we’re friends on Facebook, and it’s because of this that I remember his name.

A couple of months ago, I was going through some old photos and came across some that I had taken on a trip to Sydney, Australia. The trip must have been over twelve years ago, and I remember parts of it quite well. Someone had a debriefing. Now there are times when a debriefing comes into play for a reason other than social, such as after an incident, but normally, debriefing is code for a crew party. This debriefing was one of the more memorable ones, as it involved crews from different bases and days.

The Sydney layover was two nights, so when we landed, we met up with the crew who had arrived the previous day, as well as members from the Los Angeles crew. There were copious amounts of beverages, a sampling of snacks, and lots of laughter. It’s a great way to unwind after a fourteen-hour layover. I felt sorry for the person in whose room we all met. It must have been a hot mess in there.

I don’t always take photos at a debriefing, but I did at this one, and lo and behold, there was my friend, who, like me, had left San Francisco for Houston. I sent him copies of the old photos, and we laughed at how young we both looked in them. It was nice to finally figure out how it was that he and I knew one another.