29 years ago today, I started a job that would end up being my career. Six years earlier, the airline industry had been de-regulated, and I was coming in on what would be the end of the "golden age" of air-travel. Airlines like Braniff were disappearing while others the People Express ( the grandather of the discounts llike Southwest ) were just showing up on the scene. You could still get prime rib sliced fresh in front of you on long-haul flights and watching 1/2 the plane light-up after the no smoking light went out was always fun for kid like me.
Into this atmosphere stepped an 18 year-old kid whose father was an anirline person hmself. My first job, working at the United Airlines flight kitchen in Denver almost never happened. My father gave my application to a work colleague who gave it a spouse who gave it to the person who ran the kitchen. ( got that ? ) The interview with this gentleman was short and sweet - Hi, how are you? Are you a union person or not ? ( to which a naive kid said no ) and last but not least, when can you start ? Me - now ! His response was "welcome board". I was then sent across the street to the United Flight training center where our medical offices where for a physical and this is where the story gets fun.
Walking in to the offices the female manager/boss asked me what i was doing there ( with no apparent appointment in the books ) and told here that I was just hired and was told to come here for my physical. She informed me that I wasn't hired, and probably wouldn't be hired because of broken protocol, and was told in so many words to leave. Now these buildings. The flight Kitchen and flight Training center literally shared the same parking lot, so i left and proceeded back to the Kitchen where I pleaded my case the manager who had just interviewed me. This ended with me sitting at his desk while several phone calls where made which grew more and more heated with each conversation. Most of them went like this ( from my end because i could only hear what the Kitchen manager was saying) ... " he's hired because i SAID SO & I'm not taking any more crap from you!! ". I was then told to go back to the medical center .....
This lady was not happy. She made that point to me several times saying that if she had any say I would be pemanently banned from United because I had gone over her head. I tried to explain that I was only doing what I had been told by the other management people at the building over there, but she wouldn't have any of it.
This all happened on about December 20th ... on December 24th I got a phone call from United Employment congratulating me on being hired and was told to report for duty on December 26th at 4am.
... I was late. my first day. by 10 minutes.
There have been many ups and downs since then, from traveling the world to seeing the world come down around the airlines. Every time I think I've seen it all someting else happens. And after 29 years I really am looking forward to the 20 ... ( I am young enough still - smh )
