Of beers and babes, seizures and fires?

August 05, 2008 7 Comments A+ a-

My trip to Frankfurt was fun. I flew over on the 777 and was the Galley person in the back. I had great people working with me and it all went really, really well. Plus, the three Flight Attendants I was working with in the Aft Galley were just super folks.

We had a small medical emergency going over--a man initially appeared to be having seizures, and a doctor onboard volunteered to take a look at him. The doctor wanted to land immediately, but the gentleman started to recover with the help of some orange juice. We learned the man had diabetes, and we got him recovered and fed, and he was fine. Had he not been, we would have probably dropped him off in Reykjavik, Iceland. I am really glad he was okay. He was met by medical personnel when we arrived in Frankfurt just to be sure--and he was fine.

I think short naps were had by all of us--and we met in the lobby of the hotel later that afternoon. Ondreya is on the right, and Brian is in the middle--they both wanted to head down to the river to check out the festival with me. Brian and I worked the flight over together, and Ondreya came on a later flight. She was also in my training class. (I heart her!!!)








Walking along the riverfront...








Beer was had by all.










Big ol' beers....




















The brats....















The babes...














The babe eating a crepe....
















Me and Ondreya













I have no idea what this is a picture of--monkeys and seashells?? I think the beers crepes had kicked in at this point...









And, right along the river, we rode this Ferris wheel--it had been years since I had been on one, and it was really pretty overlooking the river and the festival. And, the weather that day and evening was simply perfection!



Ondreya and Brian on the Ferris wheel.









The flight back was on the 747 and Ondreya and I were on the same flight back. There was a little excitement onboard that flight because the smoke alarm went off in the crew rest area. On the 747, the crew rest area is in the tail of the aircraft. We open the secret hidden door (okay, it's not a secret and it isn't hidden--it is back by the lavs) and climb up a tiny spiral staircase to a small bunk room with 6 bunk beds and two reclining chairs. Anyway, in the middle of the meal service, the smoke alarm went off. Not a good thing to have fire onboard, especially in the air, over the Atlantic Ocean. Three of us were off, halon fire extinguishers in hand. There was no smoke, and no smell of smoke when we got there--and one of the Flight Attendants was pulling panels off the wall, and digging around looking for any signs of fire. (Fire is just about the worst thing that could happen onboard a plane in the air, by the way.) We found nothing and reset the alarm/fan, with the Captain's direction. A short while later, the alarm went off again. Now we knew it is a malfunctioning alarm and has to be repaired, but still diligently looked for signs of fire--there were none. Only the folks in the back of the aircraft knew there was something going on--and it was resolved quickly and only two people asked me if everything was okay.

It was sort of ironic....in Frankfurt, as a couple of us uniformed Flight Attendants approached the gate area at the airport to board the plane, a man moved his children out of the way, so we could enter by the gate agent. He said to his children, "Move over, kids, if they don't get on, we don't get drinks." I turned to him, with a big ol' smile and said "Or safety."

I suppose it is fortunate that schlepping drinks is what the traveling majority thinks I am trained to do....
Blondie

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CuzLilBit
AUTHOR
August 5, 2008 at 11:10 AM delete

O.K. I'm gonna tell you how great it is to see that you are not a fearful person. From my point of view, you are doing wonderous things (just like my dear, dear Uncle G.) Where did your family get all this gumption? I went down a fast water slide at Hot Springs and was saying my prayers! It scared me to death. And here you are, taking care of people, looking for fires, enjoying what the world has to offer. I am extremely envious of you (not so much to go to hell over--haha!) but still, I wish that I could overcome and do what you do. My husband has leapt out of an airplane. And I sit here in my safety wishing that I could see all these wonderful things. Your parents were pioneers, my dear. Not only Unk but A.C. They instilled courage in you all. What a great inheritance. LilBit.

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DUNCAN
AUTHOR
August 6, 2008 at 9:47 AM delete

ALl they need to do is look at the AA emergency evacuation yesterday at LAX. Thats why we are there!

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Blondie
AUTHOR
August 6, 2008 at 10:43 AM delete

It was purdy watchin' those slides just fold right out--I was thinking about the Flight Attendants and how they were just doing what they were trained for--and how they probably just collapsed with adrenaline-fueled exhaustion after they got back to the Terminal! They made me proud yesterday!

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DUNCAN
AUTHOR
August 6, 2008 at 12:11 PM delete

Yup, same here, I always have wanted to hear that shoosh sound as I blew a slide. Not during an emergency though, was thinking like on my last day when I quit or retire.....hmmmm...

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Doc
AUTHOR
August 6, 2008 at 12:29 PM delete

Duh!
While I spent most of my life playing with airplanes and boats, you guys have all the fun. From Athens to Tokyo, Cannes and Paree, London to Edinburgh, Reykjavik to Rio, Manila to Beirut, Capetown to Singapore, and not to forget Olongapo - and five thousand days looking across blue water, I have a wee taste of envy. And on top of that, you get to go home every few days...

Proud of you girl! You go!

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Anonymous
AUTHOR
August 12, 2008 at 3:02 PM delete

Mmm...brats! I can't wait for my trip to Germany.

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Tony
AUTHOR
August 23, 2008 at 1:01 PM delete

Wow ... sounds like an eventful trip! When things like that happen, it makes me a little on edge for a while .... a bit like my MIA last week :-(

Have been reading your blog for a little while now ... lots of fun!

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