Life Stories

What I Miss About Being A Flight Attendant

If you have been on this journey with me for a while, you probably know that I am a former Delta Airlines Flight Attendant.

The other day I was sitting on my deck watching the big jets I used to fly enter into landing and flying patterns near my home. You would have to understand the altitudes of aircraft to relate to that. Anyway, I found myself becoming a bit nostalgic just seeing landing lights and the roar of the engines as the sleek airliner so ever gracefully glided through the air.

Things really have changed since I started my career in 1974. When I hear about things happening in flight these days, I tend to focus on how it was “back in the day.”

I always looked forward to going to the airport. This was the most exciting place I’d ever been. Many times I would get to work way ahead of time just to watch people as they moved about through the terminals. It was so wonderful to see people from all walks of life and different countries scurrying around with fierce determination to get to their flights or try to figure out where to find their luggage. This was hilarious at times and heart wrenching at other times to observe lost passengers who really didn’t have a clue. Either way, I never saw the same person when I took time to pause for this experience.

Most of the time the same flight crews would fly together so we really became like family for the entire trip. Some assignments were one, two or three day trips. There were a lot of layovers scheduled that allowed us to become temporary residents in a designated hotel overnight. And, if the layovers were long, which typically exceeded twenty four hours, dinner and sightseeing was par for the course- which was packed with a tremendous amount of adventure and fun!

Oh, did I forget being on board with passengers? That was an incredible joy for me because I really love people. There was more time to chat after the service was completed depending on where we we going. I learned quite a bit from investments to grandma’s favorite recipes and heard over 200 life stories! It was a pleasure helping a young mother quiet her fussy infant and to pray with the soldiers who were experiencing their first deployment overseas. The proper handling of a disgruntled passenger simply fine tuned my people skills, especially when I was awarded a commendation for excellent service.

When I began to fly international routes I was so excited! I had the opportunity to travel to: Paris. Rome, Milan, Munich, Frankfurt, São Paulo, Nigeria, Japan, Hawaii, Montreal, Toronto, Mexico City, Montego Bay, Zurich, Copenhagen, Seoul, Punta Cana, London, and some other extraordinary places that would take more time but I’ve got to finish this story! Whew!

Right at this moment, my best memories are the cultural differences and the FOOD! Good thing that I’m not still a Flight Attendant, because the food was so hard to resist. What was amazing is that I was not designated as a language qualified Flight Attendant, but I could communicate with any person even if I didn’t speak his/her language. That’s because speech is not the only way we communicate. We communicate by word, gesture and spirit.

Someone asked if I would be a Flight Attendant all over again? Yes, I would without hesitation. I believe that Flight Attendants are the most unique group of folks in existence; not perfect but perfect for what they do.

This job matured me greatly and instilled in me a great love not only to travel, but to embrace people from all over the world. It helped me to “connect yet respect” differences and be grateful that God chose me to be a FLIGHT ATTENDANT ❤️

Captain Greer commanded my last flight to Rome!!

Sojourning

Reflections Part 2

I want to pause again to share another segment of my Life’s Journey that includes the first job I received before being employed by Delta Airlines.

The desire to travel increased with each passing day of my life and any indication of the idea, was constantly with me. While browsing through a magazine one day, I came across an ad that read,”Be A Stewardess or Look Like One.” I thought, this is my opportunity! The advertisement was from Atlantic Airline School and when I observed it a little closer it really had nothing to do with flying! What was interesting though was that, I could use this as a stepping stone to where I eventually wanted to be.

Atlantic Airline School offered training in Airline Reservations, Vacation Planning, Ticketing and Fare Construction. The training consisted of a six week home study course and after that, graduates were placed in selected cities across the country for in person training. The cost for this program was $800.00.

My father was not to thrilled about giving up that amount of money for something he wasn’t to certain of, but because he usually gave into my passions, I was enrolled right after High School with the condition of, “you’d better get a job after you finish.”

The three cities listed to attend training were Inglewood, California, Kansas City Missouri and Atlanta Georgia. My first thought was, California here I come! Not so fast missy-California was booked solid, so I tried for Kansas City. No openings were available there. The last place I wanted to be was in Georgia. The racial tensions were quite high in Georgia during the 70’s and I was gripped with fear at the thought of being in that state. Nevertheless, I would go anywhere to be in a totally different environment.

My application was submitted and in the year of 1972 I was notified of my acceptance. Placement for training was in Atlanta, Georgia. The very first thing that captured my attention, was the Hyatt Regency Hotel that could be seen from I-75 traveling North. It was referred to as, “the blue glass bubble in the sky.” All of the tall buildings were so amazing because of course I’d NEVER seen anything like them in Belhaven! What’s so hilarious is that, the Hyatt Regency in downtown Atlanta is now obscured by many skyscrapers overwhelmingly many stories high.

My place of abode for an additional six weeks of training was the Georgian Terrace Hotel on Peachtree Street. An allotment of rooms were purchased by Atlantic Airline Schools as dormitories. It too has undergone some massive reconstruction since the 70’s. I think it is referred to as, “The Luxurious Georgian Terrace Hotel.”

The training course was very detailed and challenging, but because I was so eager to learn, I excelled in all areas. I graduated with honors and was hired by one of the most prestigious Travel Agencies in the country, Henderson Travel Service. This company specialized, and still does, in Travel Tours of the African continent and has received many awards for distinguished service. When I arrived on the scene, there was a dire need for an expert in Domestic Travel. Yours truly fit the bill! I was in charge of front office operations and formulated travel arrangements for professors of Atlanta University, i.e. Dr. Benjamin Mays, local politicians such as Mayor Maynard Jackson, Ambassador Andrew Young, Dr. CT Vivian, Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr., Mrs. Coretta Scott King and Mrs. Christine Farris, sister to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. My interaction with these wonderful people is something I will always cherish. As a side note, I was thrilled to have Mayor Jackson as a passenger on flights several times to Washington D.C. during my career at Delta!

There were many others that I had the privilege of meeting as well. Marketing Representatives frequented the office with travel updates and I befriended several of them. One in particular was with Delta and I was always inquiring about working with Delta as a Stewardess, as they were called at that time. He kept urging me to apply. The only problem was I seventeen and I had to wait until I was eighteen years old. That my friends was about eight months away! I applied any way and I was invited for an interview a short time after my birthday.

Guess what happened? They did not hire me! That did not deter me because I know my destiny had been sealed. I contacted the office of another person I’d met who worked directly with hiring. I asked him why would I not be hired with my knowledge of travel and customer service. He put me on hold for about three minutes and returned to inform me that one more could be added to the next class for training.

My training with Delta Airlines began in September of 1974, two years after I first stepped foot on Georgian soil. This was a dream come true! This dream fueled my passion with determination that still views every experience as adding substance and value to the essence of who I am.

A final thought: NEVER LET GO OF YOUR DREAM!!!!!

Life Stories

My Testimony

It was the year of 1995. A muggy summer day wrapped around the city like a heavy blanket. During that time, a great number of women in Atlanta, had been murdered or sexually assaulted. I never feared, but tried to be aware of my surroundings at all times. God was my best friend, even though I had not received Christ in my life as of yet. Even though I had no family near me, I possessed an indescribable faith, which assured me that my son and I would always be taken care of.

After a long work week, I settled into a very deep sleep that night and began to dream, or to see a vision. I have always been terribly afraid of snakes and the dream (vision) was one that showed me a snake crawling between my sheets as I slept. I immediately jumped up and started looking for this serpent who had violated my peace. Then I asked myself, what will I do when I find it? I settled back on my pillow and closed my eyes, that’s when I heard a sweet voice speak to my spirit, “if you don’t give your life to Christ, you will die.” I cried out to God to save me. I shared this with a very close friend, who had been a Christian for quite some time and she prayed with me to receive Christ as my Lord and Savior. This vision was given to me three years before the enemy assaulted my life.

My son Emmett, was 14 years old when we lived in College Park, Georgia, a suburb twenty minutes south of Atlanta. This was a middle-classed area full of hardworking folks, and we knew most of the people on our street. Emmett was quite a sociable young man, and always looked for an opportunity to gather on the street with the neighborhood kids. I was a single Mother and very selective in who I granted access into his impressionable life.

There was a single mother that lived next to us, who had a son named Wayne. She worked three jobs, and needless to say, was never at home. This gave Wayne a lot of time to get into trouble. He often threw parties during the day, when he and about twenty attendees should have been in school. Of course, I reported this to the local high school where they were enrolled and the principal politely told me, “this guy is trouble” and you need to stay as far away from him as you can.

One day a group of teenagers were brandishing guns in the middle of the street in front of our house. I immediately called Emmett inside just seconds before they started discharging those weapons into the air. I called the police and they came to get a report detailing descriptions of the perpetrators and the type of vehicle they were driving. From my understanding, some of them were taken into police headquarters for questioning.

That hot summer day I referred to in the beginning, turned into a hot muggy evening. Emmett and I had just finished watching the news and the first five stories were about the violence against women that resounded all over the state. It was about 11:30 p.m. when I said to Emmett, “we must pray for safety”. After we prayed, he went across the hall to his room and I proceeded downstairs. As I reached the foyer the doorbell rang. I turned toward the door and peered through the peephole but could only see the top of someone’s head. I shouted, “who is it,” A young man answered, Is Wayne here!!?? I responded, “Wayne lives next door.” He answered- “I think you are lying!!!!” Before I could respond, the sound of gunfire rang out and I felt a persistent pressure in my left side. My brain took a while to figure out what had just occurred. I grabbed my side and realized; I’d been shot! There was no pain, for the nerves had been severed. I yelled to Emmett to call 911 and get in the closet because I didn’t know if he was going to try to enter the house and harm my son. Emmett instructed me to pray!!!

Emmett called my best friend who lived about three minutes from us. She later told me that she had plans to get in the shower around that time and every time she headed toward the bathroom, she would think of something else she had to accomplish. If she had been in the shower, she never would have heard the telephone ring. She arrived ten minutes before the EMTs and was holding me in her arms and pleading with God to save my life.

I was taken to the best trauma center in the country (Grady Hospital). The wound was from a twelve-gauge shotgun which was fired at point blank range. You see, I never opened the door, but the young man placed the barrel of the gun on the other side of the door and fired. The miracle was that the bullet was one inch from my femoral artery. It entered just below my pelvic area and exited through my hip. There was very little bleeding and no bone was damaged.

The detective handling the case later told me that Wayne was the target and not me. He had some altercations with some other people who weren’t too fond of him. The plan was to harm Wayne’s mother but the person responsible for carrying out this attack was inebriated and went to the wrong house.

The process of healing was slow, that’s when I experienced the most pain. The nerves started to regenerate by webbing together the next day! Psalm 139:14- “I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” I discontinued my pain medications because I could tell I was becoming addicted and could not function. I asked the doctor to just give me some Tylenol and that was all I needed.

I thank God that He has used this ordeal to bless many. After the recovery period, my Pastor sent me to minister at the Youth Detention in South Atlanta, and the young men received Christ by witnessing the power of God in my life. I know now that this experience was for a reason, His plan and purpose.

Rose Gibbs-Miller

Sojourning

Reflections

Every experienced traveler must have a time to rest and reflect on how they have progressed along the way. Each encounter is documented as a stepping stone to achieve destiny. So today, I wish to give you some inside information, that inspired me to begin writing this blog in the first place.

I was born in Belhaven, a VERY tiny fishing town in the state of North Carolina. My childhood memories were about a beautiful place where I encountered magnificent splendor at every twist and turn. We lived near an inlet called “Pamlico Sound,” and when night time fell, everything was so still, the ebbing of the tide could be heard everywhere. The grass was green and lush in summertime, and the ever present smell of the ocean was pure and clean. Stars sparkled with such brilliance, that they extinguished the light of even the largest diamond. Frequent rainstorms replenished the earth with with an array of colorful flowers and provided the best vegetables for our family, that my father harvested in our backyard garden.

There was a bridge that connected Belhaven to the other side of the “Pamlico Sound”, and my family very seldom ventured too far from the outskirts of that bridge. However, there was a burning desire within me to know the world beyond that boundary.

One day my father purchased a volume of Shakespeare from a yard sale and placed them conveniently beside the night table in my bedroom. Maybe he sensed the spirit of adventure in me, when I sat out early one Saturday morning, to find the end of the rainbow. Little did he know that would be the beginning of a journey that has never ceased.

My Paternal Grandmother would read the Bible to me every night and it dawned on me that some of the same places mentioned in Shakespeare, were also mentioned in the bible. Immediately, I developed a love for God and marveled at the teachings of Jesus and how much he loved me. Strangely ,this reinforced my inclination to travel the world.

Fast forward to the year of 1974, when my airline career began. Each interaction with people of ALL NATIONALITIES, presented an opportunity for encouragement and sincere love, even if there was a language barrier.

God used my job as a tool (calling), to be a light for HIS love, mercy and grace, all over the world!

My mentor Dr. Myles Munroe said, “Your job is what you are paid to do, your work is what you are called to do.”

THIS BLOG IS A WORK OF GOD THAT COMPARES ALL THE OCCURENCES OF AIR TRAVEL TO WHAT WE CONFRONT IN LIFE.

It is based on principles of the word of God, so look deeply into each posting, even if a scripture is not written. (Principle is defined as a fundamental truth that serves as a foundation for a belief).

It’s been quite a journey from that tiny town, but remember “journey is the essence of destiny.”

Everyone’s journey is different, but we must ALL allow the process of time, for it is divine preparation to fulfil the Master’s plan.

Remain on this journey with me and share some thoughts about your process, together we are sure to make an impact on the world.