Is It May Yet?: Flying to Alaska for the Helluvit

When someone asks me why I love going to Alaska, my usual answer is that I go just for the hell of it. Except that’s not what I said.

I said halibut.

I go to Alaska just for the halibut.

I’m not into salmon. Never have been. I love almost all seafood, and I’ve always felt left out because I don’t enjoy salmon. In fact, since it’s served on Mother Airline so often, once or twice a year I give it another try, just to see if my taste buds have changed or if I’ve finally found the holy grail of salmon fillets.

When I attended my brother’s test marriage—the first one that didn’t take—Mom chose salmon as the entrée. I tried it and actually really liked it. A few weeks later, on a flight, I tried it again.

No.

No, thank you, take it away.

The famous halibut sandwich
eaten open faced with jalapeno mayo, thank you

Halibut, on the other hand... light, flaky, delish. It makes my eye roll back and I melt into a glob of happifaction (happiness+ satisfaction), complete with yummy sounds and toes curls.

F Street Station is known for the
block of Tillamook sharp cheddar

I was at F Street Station recently, sitting at the bar so I could watch the chefs prepare all the delicious meals. The cute couple next to me were chatting, and I caught on that this was their first time in Alaska.

Then Smitty handed them their food: a halibut sandwich and calamari. The calamari at F Street Station is out of this world, especially with the side of jalapeño mayonnaise. This mayo is so good that last season I was bringing plastic baggies to bring it home until I looked into a recipe. Now I buy fresh jalapeno peppers for not only my own spicy mayo, but making my own pickled peppers is SO freaking much better than any jar I've ever bought.

I got sidetracked watching Smitty dip halibut bites in flour and then beer batter before dropping them into the deep fryer. That’s when I heard the yummy noises coming from the couple to my left.

She started laughing at him. He was silent, his head tilted back. He was in another realm. I know that realm. “Don’t tell me,” I leaned in say. “He tasted the halibut, his eyes rolled back, and he’s melting in his seat.” She laughed and asked how I had guessed.

F Street crab sandwich

“Oh, I know all about it. You ordered the best thing on the menu. Both those things. And try the crab sandwich.” Chef's kiss. 

Anchorage is within a ten-hour flight of 90% of the industrialized world. Out of Houston, the flights to Anchorage are seasonal. We start in mid-May and end in mid-September. I caught on a little late last year when I saw a trip on the trade board and picked it up. Lucky me. I fell in love immediately. Not just for the halibut, but the weather, the 7-hour flight (I prefer them long), and watching how quickly the snow melts on the mountain tops, the way the sun dips below the horizon before rising again, and how quickly the days get shorter. In July the sun sets long after takeoff. By September it's getting dark when we leave the hotel.

I flew all of July through the end of the season in September. This year, I started at the beginning and managed to hold the trip for the entire season- purser.

747s at the airport

That means I’m the lead flight attendant. I coordinate with the flight deck, make the announcements, help out in economy, deal with those who need to be dealt with, and generally keep things moving on board.

There was a time when I loved flying purser and did it all the time. Then came the big COVID leave of absence that lasted four years, and the responsibility of being in charge of the flight became daunting. I suffered from brain fog for a long time and still struggle with it at times when I’m tired or overworked.

But I’d work any position if it meant escaping the Houston heat for a few days at a time on these Anchorage layovers. There was a retired pilot on one flight who asked what I do on my many layovers. Eat halibut. Throw back a few drinks at Darwin’s Theory, the bar tourists visit to become locals. I’d go to the Broken Blender more often, but most of my crew mates are scared of it. And on karaoke nights, I can hear it all from my room anyway. And with a 27-hour layover it’s also a great place to catch up on union work, do a little writing, and sleep all day.

Inside Darwin's Theory

But mostly?

Halibut.

Penguin on the bike trail

 I enjoy Anchorage to the point that I’m fairly sure if Mother Airline were to open a base there, I’d transfer. Oh, I do enjoy renting a bike and exploring the trails, spotting meese—what I like to call moose when there’s more than one—and stopping under the flight path to watch the numerous 747s landing at the airport. Gosh, I miss those planes.

It's not only the halibut. Other places I highly recommend are Uncle Joe's pizza right next door to Darwin's, Pel'Meni for Russian dumplings, Club Paris for steak, and the Red Umbrella street vendor for spicy reindeer sausage.

Dumplings at Pel'Meni

Uncle Joe's pizza

The long winter nights? I am penguin. I enjoy cold weather. Also, I am a vampire and generally come to life after 8 p.m. At night, my home is barely illuminated. I think I would thrive in the long nights there.

Now that the season is over, my heart is heavy. I miss seeing the passengers returning to Houston who remember me from their flight up to Alaska. Folks would bring treats on almost every flight. With so many people flying up to take cruises, go fishing, or board a train to visit Denali—the tallest peak in North America—they’re in such a great mood. We often liken them to our passengers when flying to Canada: some of the friendliest passengers in the world.

Midnight in September

Midnight in Ju

Love the mountains as we enter Alaska airspace

And then, just like that, Alaska is gone until May. 

For now, I’m enjoying a few trips to Hawaii—Honolulu, Maui, and Lihue—and Guatemala and San Salvador. I do love me some Peru, so I’m sure I’ll hit Lima up a lot as well.

But in the meantime... is it May yet?

The views of glaciers are amazing

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I’ve Been Ducked: But I love chocolate, too

 

Hello from Penguin

 Many people bring candy. Generous people bring chocolate. A few bring gift cards.

 On my final trip home from Anchorage for the 2026 season, a woman brought the entire crew ducks. The pilot's ducks had little pilot hats and two stripes on the sleeve. The women crewmember’s ducks had little flight attendant hats.

My duck had three spikes of hair and on the sleeves were three stripes—one more than the pilots. I guess I outranked them. It was one of the best gifts I’ve received as a flight attendant. The woman in 15B handed them out when she boarded. The gesture was grand and greatly appreciated. They were made in celebration of her mom Cherryl’s 80^th birthday, who was seated in 16A.

First class ducks on a redeye from Anchorage

Was this the only reason they handed us ducks? They did receive a lot of attention from the crew. Miss Cherryl and her daughter were offered a complimentary birthday drink and I made a card we all signed. The captain even gave up one of his airline trading cards that the kids are all going ape over. Some might have ulterior motives for giving gifts to the crew

Dinner is served first class style

A Hundred-Dollar Surprise

There was the one time this really nice guy in first class wanted to give me a tip. With much thanks, I told him we are not allowed to receive tips from our passengers. He was quite persistent, as was I, and in the end we landed with no more in my pockets than when we took off. However, as he left he told me to check his seat; he’d left me something in it. The bugger had left a hundred dollar bill and a note of thanks, saying he rarely enjoys the pampering and professionalism as that day from me.

A Round for the Entire Plane

One trip I’ll never forget was from Chicago to Los Angeles. It was a very late departure from ORD, and first class was lightly loaded. While taking drink orders, a man in 3E asked if he could buy a round of drinks for the entire plane. Surely, he was joking. After some back-and-forth, he assured me he was serious.

He explained that he was a producer for a sitcom that had just won several awards, and this was how he wanted to celebrate. The other flight attendants in economy were as shocked as I was, but we were happy to make it happen.

My crewmembers in Anchorage

 I made the announcement, and when the crew in the back finished the service, they had sold less than $150 worth of alcohol. This guy probably spends that much on a bottle of wine. (Call me!) The flight attendants, however, were a little miffed at me. They hadn’t realized I was going to make an announcement.

 Umm… how else would anyone know he was buying a round? They claimed it was difficult to keep track of all the alcohol sales. I don’t know why they didn’t simply create a tab for 3E and attribute each purchase to him. Do I have to think for everyone?

These days, especially after the COVID brain fog I endured for four years, I often joke that I have only three working brain cells. And they don’t always communicate well with one another. People laugh at the imagery, but then I do something unintended and silly and think it may not be too far from the truth.

The Gift That Means the Most

Fun crews like to hang out 
on layovers

The candy is fun. The chocolates are decadent. The gift cards are handy when I’m in the mood for a fancy cold coffee drink at the place I don’t currently frequent because its union employees are on strike. And I LOVE my little flight attendant duck, with its three stripes and the name of Mother Airline on its pocket.

But what I love most is a letter of compliment that I can give to my supervisor. It’s nice to look at my work history and see what we used to call Orchid Letters in my file—proof that the work I do is appreciated by my passengers.

That kind of recognition means a lot.

Taking Care of One Another

All flight attendants love a little appreciation. It’s something to remember the next time you buy a ticket and feel generous toward the people working hard to take care of you. Of course, I don’t speak for all flight attendants. We love the chocolate, too!

So buy the chocolate for your crew; The best time to hand it out is when you board. Let us know where you’re sitting, and we’ll be happy to say thank you right back. And then, grab a cocktail napkin and a pen, jot down a note of appreciation, and hand it to your crew as you leave the aircraft. It really makes our day and is something we can look back on for years, sort of like my duck. 

It’s a small world. We’ve got to look out for one another.

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Bones Sinking Like Stones: Never to Forget 9-11

 

Penguin in the training center

For years, I couldn't talk about it. The movies and documentaries were so painful that watching them felt like I was reliving that day. And flying for work? Not at all possible. Then there was the time I was on a 767, flying from somewhere to someplace—I don't even remember where.

What I do remember is that it was night. The aircraft was dark, and I was seated at my jumpseat at the aft left door. From that vantage point, I could see almost all of economy. The engines droned—a peaceful, almost soothing sound. The load was fairly light and the darkness was illuminated by the seatback monitors.

My mind drifted to the morning of September 11.

I thought about what it must have been like for the passengers on Flight 175. One minute in flight, the next in darkness, silence, drifting through space toward a white light like a spinning diamond, bright white sparks streaking out in every direction against the pitch-black void, as I saw in my near-death experience. To be slammed into the side of a building in New York by deranged monsters so hell-bent on hate that it seemed enough to fill the deepest chasm on our beautiful planet.

I broke down in tears and rushed into the lavatory to hide. The next day, I reached out to my local EAP and was soon in therapy, where I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress. Have some happy pills and take some time off work. This was several years later. It was also when I learned that trauma can take its sweet-ass time to manifest in some people.

Your friendly flight attendant

Oh, I cried enough at the time.

Today, I fly with flight attendants who weren't even born on 9-11. Others tell me they were something like five years old and have no real memory of it. For me, I remember it like it was last month.

I was in Annapolis visiting my girlfriend and was scheduled to fly back to San Francisco after a long weekend. I snuck out of the house early that morning so not to wake Tammy, to stop by the Harley dealership I had managed for five years.

The first thing I remember about that visit was hearing, "I bet you hate being a flight attendant today."

"Whaaa?..." was my reaction. "Oh, yeah," he continued. "They're flying planes into buildings in New York." I made my rounds quickly and went to the office of my bookkeeper, Maxine. She filled me in, telling me the airports were closed, so there was no point in even going to BWI airport.

I could have stayed longer, but the thirst for information about what was happening was overpowering. Back at Tammy's house on Spa Creek, I turned on the television in the living room. There, I watched the replay of the second plane hitting the World Trade Center.

Tammy was still in bed. I went in and sat beside her, placing my hand on her shoulder. "Wake up. Two planes have flown into the World Trade Center." As she stirred, I returned to the television. They replayed the plane hitting the tower again as she reached my side and held onto me "Looks like a 767," I said dryly. "At least they died quickly," I added.

She began to cry, which is what set me off. For several minutes—or perhaps an hour; I have no idea—she and I stood in front of the television, watching it suck the will to live right out of us. At some point, I tried calling my mom but couldn't get through. I called the rental car company to make sure I could keep the car without a problem. "No worries," I was assured. With the airport closed, so too was their facility. And when I finally got through to Mom, she broke down, "I knew you were flying home and didn't know if you were on one of the planes..."

Later that night, I was lying on the floor, still glued to the news. Having heard enough, I put on my earphones and listened to Coldplay. As I watched the towers fall time and again—from this view and that—"Don't Panic" played in my ears.

View of the towers from my flight

View from my visit to the twin towers

The song goes: 

Bones sinking like stones
All that we fought for
Homes, places we've grown
All of us are done for

And we live in a beautiful world
Yeah, we do, yeah, we do
We live in a beautiful world

And there were the towers, falling over and over on the television. 

The white external ribs of the buildings looked like bones falling, sinking like stones. The feeling, especially after the next two planes went down in Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon, was that we were done for.

I took this photo in September 2000,
one year before they fell

That afternoon, I stood on the shore of Spa Creek in Annapolis, beneath what was normally the flight path of planes landing in Baltimore. Not this day. It was silent except for the birds. Water lapped gently at the shore. It was a cool, clear day. Not a cloud in sight—just a brilliant blue sky.

We live in a beautiful world.

Those lyrics inspired me to write to the band. I never heard back, but months later I flew to New York to see Coldplay live in a little, smoky venue not far from where the bones fell like stones. On that same trip, I couldn't bring myself to visit Ground Zero. At a park, however, the Orb was on display—the battered and dented sculpture that had stood in the plaza between the towers. People posed in front of it for photographs, all smiles and happy.

It made me sick. The weight of what that sculpture had been through—and there they were, smiling. My friend Gloria asked if I wanted my picture taken with it. Even if it might have let others know that the moment should be taken more seriously than a smiling photo opportunity, I wasn't interested. We all deal with grief in our own way.

So much changed after 9/11. The attitude of the country. The sense of national pride. No—the world came together for America's grief. The night before, on September 10, I had visited with my dear friend Mary, who read my astrology chart after dinner. The stars told her that there was going to be a change in my job. I took it to mean that I would get a new job.

When I got my job a year prior, I didn't want to be a flight attendant. I thought I'd use it as a stepping stone into management. But I quickly fell in love with flying around the world, so that aspiration was laid to rest.

"You must be wrong," I told her. She stood fast by her words. "Your job will soon be changing." Yes, in many ways, Mary was right about my job.

After 9/11, I was furloughed. The airline soon filed for bankruptcy. Airport security bore down hard not only on the flying public, but on flight crew. Our flying changed from one leg a day with 19-plus-hour layovers to several flights a day with 13-hour layovers.

The new World Trade Center

So here we are, at the point where those tragic events are 25 years behind us. Some of my flying partners learned about how that day affected our careers in training as if security was always like it is. The safety protocols that were new to us in 2001 are now taken for granted.

Do they understand that the see-through first-class curtain wasn't always see-through? Do they know that the reason it is mesh is so we can see through the cabin and make sure nothing untoward is happening to our fellow flight attendants in the other cabin?

One of my mixed media art pieces 

Flight attendants were among the first victims of 9/11. We are aviation's first responders. There is a gratitude most Americans feel for the firefighters who died in the Twin Towers. In the months after the four planes went down, we heard a lot of love from our passengers. And for those of us who had already started our careers—whether you were with American, United, or any other carrier—we will never forget.

We will never forget the tragedy of that day. 9-11 was like a black hole—the tragedy so dense, the gravity of what happened on that day is difficult to grasp.

We will never forget the crews who perished, the passengers, the innocent victims in the towers and at the Pentagon, and the pain carried by their loved ones and shared around the world.

This year, I leave for my final trip of the season to Anchorage. I've held this trip all season—from May through September. It's my favorite. It has taken years before I could fly on this date. This isn't the first time I've worked on 9-11, but this year is special. Not simply because of the milestone of 25 years, but because I've finally reached a point where I can talk about where I was with my flying partners. I can watch videos of the towers being pierced by our planes and of them falling. I can watch the animated play-by-play explaining the mechanics of why the towers couldn't withstand the impacts.

I'm finally ready to visit Ground Zero to pay my respects. I'm not in a rush to do so, and I'm fully aware that when I do, the floodgate of tears will open. But I'm ready.

Never forget those who left for work and never came home. 

These were the first victims of that day:

American Airlines Flight 11 — Boeing 767
Struck the North Tower

• Capt. John Ogonowski — Pilot

• First Officer Thomas McGuinness

• Barbara Arestegui — Flight Attendant

• Jeffrey Collman — Flight Attendant

• Sara Low — Flight Attendant

• Karen Martin — Flight Attendant

• Kathleen Nicosia — Flight Attendant

• Betty Ann Ong — Flight Attendant

• Jean Roger — Flight Attendant

• Dianne Snyder — Flight Attendant

• Madeline Amy Sweeney — Flight Attendant

United Airlines Flight 175 — Boeing 767 
Struck the South Tower

• Capt. Victor J. Saracini — Pilot

• First Officer Michael R. Horrocks

• Robert John Fangman — Flight Attendant

• Amy N. Jarret — Flight Attendant

• Amy R. King — Flight Attendant

• Kathryn L. LaBorie — Flight Attendant

• Alfred Gilles Padre Joseph Marchand — Flight Attendant

• Michael C. Tarrou — Flight Attendant

• Alicia Nicole Titus — Flight Attendant

I painted this on a cruise

American Airlines Flight 77 — Boeing 757 
Struck the Pentagon

• Capt. Charles F. Burlingame III — Pilot

• First Officer David M. Charlebois

• Michele M. Heidenberger — Flight Attendant

• Jennifer Lewis — Flight Attendant

• Kenneth E. Lewis — Flight Attendant

• Renee A. May — Flight Attendant

United Airlines Flight 93 — Boeing 757
Crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania

• Capt. Jason M. Dahl — Pilot

• First Officer LeRoy Homer Jr. — First Officer

• Lorraine G. Bay — Flight Attendant

• Sandra Waugh Bradshaw — Flight Attendant

• Wanda Anita Green — Flight Attendant

• CeeCee Ross Lyles — Flight Attendant

• Deborah Jacobs Welsh — Flight Attendant

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Pool Boy: Down Here We All Float

 

My stepfather was afraid of water, so in 1980 he installed a swimming pool at our West Houston home that was only five feet deep. Great for an eleven-year-old and yet shallow enough for the dolt to stand up in so he wouldn’t drown—that is if smart enough to do so.

Before this, my home-pool experience had been limited to my father’s pool in the backyard of his Albuquerque home. If you had a pool as a child, I’m sure you can commiserate with being the official pool slave. It was our lot in life, as members of the pool elite, to be the ones who checked the chemical balance of the water. I achieved admiral-like status by mastering the art of dunking the plastic testing kit and adding colored drops to ensure that the chlorine and pH levels were sufficient to prevent what would surely have been a horrific death caused by frolicking in unsafe water. Do laboratory scientists hold ranks other than “Mad”? I might qualify.

Houston 1968

In 2013, I began contemplating a move from California back to Houston, my home since 1968. I never thought I’d return to Houston after leaving in 1995 to make Annapolis, Maryland, my home. As much as I loved Houston and the Lone Star State, I had always abhorred the heat and humidity.

I realized I no longer wanted to live from one paycheck to the next—and that I was willing to give up the rich social life I enjoyed in the Bay Area—I began looking at Houston homes with pools. Four-bedroom houses, to be exact. My family would whine, “Why do you need four bedrooms?”

Well, one of the driving forces behind my relocation was to set myself up for when I retire and perhaps in a home that is paid for. There was also the smallest chance that I might marry. In that case, I needed a home with an office for me, a guest room for my friends to visit (ten years in, and none of my Bay Area friends have come to stay), and an extra room for my dearly beloved—either an office or simply additional space, you know, the kind that makes for a healthy marriage. (I wouldn’t know; I’ve only heard tales.)

Also, the thought of coming home from work and trips around the world—where I typically cleared customs in a uniform damp with perspiration, as if smuggling penguins or something worse—the thought of stripping naked and jumping into a pool was capital. This prompted further bleating from the fam: “Why do you need a pool? They’re so costly.” Dammit, this is my life, and I’ll do as I please. I don’t see them buying my house.

As much as I wanted a home with a pool, the market was becoming that of a seller’s, and homes with pools were moving beyond my financial reach. Ultimately, I found the home of my dreams: four bedrooms, an attached garage, and an established neighborhood with large trees—but no pool.

My 2025 pool

Last summer, I realized that adding a pool was within reach, even if it had to be a small one. To test the feasibility of the idea, I bought an inflatable pool that fit on my back patio. It was twelve feet in diameter and three feet deep. I quickly discovered that floating in a pool while listening to music, watching the eight stars visible in Houston at night, and tracking satellites and airplanes crossing the sky was a superior experience.

Summer ended, so I drained the pool. When summer returned, I attempted to resurrect it, but because I had failed to store it properly—yes, it sat in my yard all winter, with the dead grass to show for its seasonal retirement—it leaked water.

I was not at all happy about going through the summer without my proclivity for floating the night away, so I ordered another pool, but the next size up. I also ordered new and improved floating devices more in keeping with the status I wished to maintain while buoyant. Oh, to watch celestial events in the skies overhead like an emperor penguin.

My oopsie was ordering a pool that was actually two sizes larger. Things looked promising as the water level increased, but I soon discovered that the pool was encroaching on my deck on one side and on my plants on the other.

My 2026 pool

“To hell with it,” I thought, and kept filling it up. I could buy new plants, but I needed to float. I needed the excuse of preferring to float whenever I was invited to join friends at bars on the weekends and simply didn’t feel like getting prettied up and driving downtown.

Thank the gods that work finally secured a new contract with better pay, along with a rather substantial retroactive payment. Thank you, AFA. I am now shopping for a real pool. I grew up living in apartments with swimming pools but was never employed as their official water tester. It’s been eons since I was the water slave, but it’s coming back to me. I’m ready to upgrade.

No more late-night inflating of the ring that keeps my pool a pool. No, to my deck’s relief, I will soon be further in debt—not only financially, but also in terms of my free time—as I pay for the additional electricity required to run a pool, along with the chemicals and the kit used to test them and time keeping it clean and tidy. And fancy solar lights, and new floaty things for my wine goblets and wet ass.

But I’ll be able to float, watch the eight stars visible in the Houston skies, and spy back at the satellites spying on a naked penguin with a glass of bubbly while listening to Stevie Nicks, Steely Dan, Björk, and others at 2 a.m. And, truth be told, if you really look on a clear night while floating in a pool, you can actually see more than eight stars over Houston. 

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