Silver Streak: Memories that make a day sweet

 

Me with Aunt Glenda

Being the aircraft door greeter has always been one of my favorite parts of my job. I love standing at the door, saying hello to travelers, flirting with people of both genders—I call it flirting, but it’s not sexual flirting. It’s simply my attempt to make a connection using whatever personal details I can pick up on in the few seconds I have with them—and, of course, having fun with the kids.

When I’m not greeting, I also enjoy what I call facilitating. That’s when I’m working in the cabin during boarding, helping with luggage placement. In this role, I hang out in empty rows during the boarding process. I get to greet people as they come aboard while making sure bags are placed in the overhead bins in a way that accommodates as many passengers as possible.

One of my superpowers is picking the row that will be seated first. There could be empty rows between 10 and 22, yet somehow, the one I choose to hang out in will be the first to have passengers headed for it. So I flirt with them, telling them I was keeping their seats safe for them, but now that they’re here, I can go do the same for someone else.

That’s exactly what happened on a recent flight.

A couple was making their way down the aisle. They were among the first 20 or so passengers to board. She caught my eye because of the silver streak running through her jet-black hair. When her husband reached my row, he said they were seated there. I moved to the row behind them, and as they settled into their seats, I complimented her hair.

Your seat awaits

“I have an aunt with hair like that. She’s in her 80s and has had a beautiful streak in her hair for as long as I remember. And, bonus, she also has the best Southern accent I’ve ever heard. She was born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, but you’d think she was from Georgia.”

She smiled and thanked me, then asked, “Does your whole family have that accent?”

“No,” I said. “She's so special, just her.”

As I answered, I slipped into an accent much like my Aunt Glenda’s. One particular memory of her fine accent has always stuck with me. She was on the phone with a friend once when I heard her say, “I just wanted to call to say thank ewe,” in the sweetest Southern accent I could muster. Me, the kid born and raised in Texas without the usual accent; I barely did justice to Aunt Glenda’s Southern twang.

Aunt Glenda at her granddaughter's wedding

“I can’t speak in an accent like that,” the woman told me.

I kept up my Southern voice. “Why, I bet if you just gave it some practice, you’d be talking like Foghorn Leghorn in no time.”

She laughed.

I continued. “I love showing off my Southern accent, but I can also speak like they do in ‘Loosianna.’”

I switched things up and slipped into my Cajun accent. I’ve fooled people born and raised in the bayous of Louisiana with my N’awlins accent. And when I worked at the Texas Renaissance Festival, I once had a guy pull me about 500 feet across the grounds to meet his mother, who was from Italy and barely spoke English. He had mistaken me for an Italian because of my accent.

“Escoosa,” I told him, “The king-a doan let me a speak in Italiano...he think I a-talk about himma.”

Fortunately, he understood what I was trying to say. He told his mother, in her native tongue, that my accent was so good he thought I actually spoke Italian. They both laughed. I laughed. Soon the entire family was laughing. Entertainment accomplished. He had been excited to have someone in Texas who could talk to her in her native tongue. I was excited to get an entire family laughing.

A genetic tendency for a localized streak of silver or white hair is known as poliosis, which refers to a patch of hair completely devoid of melanin. Pop culture often calls this a "witch's streak." While many people display a completely harmless silver streak as an isolated genetic trait, it can also run in families.

Gypsy Wren from Italy

 As the couple settled into their seats, my mind was awash with all the things I loved about my aunt, and I shared a few of them. “Aunt Glenda is one of the best cooks I know. Growing up, her meals were legendary: beef tenderloin with summer squash casserole, homemade rolls, and pecan pie. Family dinners at her home are some of my most special memories."

 They were very interested, so I continued, “In fact, to this day, I still dream about my Aunt Glenda quite often. I always love these dreams. I wake up feeling as though I’ve spent the evening with her, and it makes my whole day so much better.”

I don’t get to see Aunt Glenda as much as I’d like now that she has moved to Georgia, where her daughter and family live. Recently, while spending a weekend riding roller coasters at Six Flags near Dallas, I was reminded of the time she and Uncle Bill took my cousin and me there when we were preteens.

My cousin Leslie

Even though they lived only 30 miles away, we stayed in a hotel which was exciting for us kids. After the park closed, they left Leslie and me in our room while they went out for a date night. It’s such a fond memory, and one that, to this day, Les and I bring up whenever we’re together.

I’d spent a fair amount of time talking to this couple, as numerous people passed by without my saying hello and welcoming them aboard. I also didn’t want to bore them with countless wonderful memories that only I could truly appreciate.

Then, as if on cue, someone stopped, looked at the seat number below the overhead bin, and realized I was standing in their row. “Hi there. I was keeping your seat safe. Let me just move over here…”

And I did, allowing them access to their row.

Later, when we were in the air and doing our beverage service, I was disappointed to see that the lady with the fantastic hair had fallen asleep. I wasn’t able to chat with her more, and her man was engrossed in a movie.

That night, I enjoyed a layover in Cleveland, one of my favorite US cities—up there with Pittsburgh and Spokane. And, sure enough, I enjoyed some dream time with my aunt.

The next day, I texted her to say hello. I didn’t tell her about meeting a fun woman on my flight with the same fabulous hairdo. Maybe I should have. But I did let her know how special she is to me.

Some shots of Cleveland

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