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RELAX... It's Easy With The Tush-eez Cushion...
http://pd.gophercentral.com/u/1060/c/186/a/25
August 13, 2010
Greetings...
Well, You knew I would have to talk about what everyone else has
been talking about for the past few days. I don't think there are
too many people who haven't heard about JetBlue flight attendant
Steven Slater...
However, just in case you happened to be in an area that had no
cable, television signals, newspapers, Indian smoke signals, etc.
here's a brief synopsis...
The 38-year-old flight attendant cursed out an entire aircraft over the
plane's intercom, grabbed two beers and then exited the plane by deploying
the emergency slide. What supposedly set him off was an altercation with
a rude passenger, carry on baggage and an overhead bin which resulted in
Slater getting injured with a gash on his head...
Slater went home after his stunt and was arrested and if convicted, could
get up to seven years in prison for various laws that were broken...
The day this happened, Slater became a hero to everyone that has had to
deal with the public and treated badly by that same public. Within hours,
there were songs made and posted on You Tube and I can't think of anyone
that didn't have a smile on their face when either reporting the story or
hearing the story...
Because of my ties and interest in the airline business and hearing
enough horror stories from Flyboy every week with one or more episodes
of bad behavior from passengers, and because as a hair stylist for many
years, I , myself have had to deal with customers from Hell, so I
immediately applauded the guy when hearing the story...
I wondered why the woman he supposedly had the altercation with was
nowhere around, had not been arrested for interferring with a flight
which is a federal offense, or why other passengers hadn't pulled out
their cellphones and captured the outburst on video which is the way
things seem to go these days.
It didn't matter, this guy was a cool dude and a hero! He was a valued
employee who had been recognized many times for outstanding service.
I have to admit, I'm not quite as supportive of Slater as I was the
day he pulled his stunt...
Why the change of heart? A few reasons. While searching for the articles
about Slater, something didn't seem quite right. Every story was different
and so was the account of the event that led up to the time Slater left
the plane...
After a few days of silence, some passengers have finally started to
give their account of the incident as well as Slater's demeanor before,
during and after the flight and it's starting to look like he may have
been drinking before the incident...
I'm sure the whole truth will come out eventually and he may or may
not lose his hero status in everyone's eyes, but I think it is very
telling how many people admired and wish they could have at one point
in their lives, told nasty customers off, quit a job creatively and
have people rally behind you to the point of raising money for your
legal defense...
One word could be used to describe not only Slater's reaction to
an incident (if it is indeed true), and that same word can be used
to describe why the public has embraced Slater and what he did...
Frustration. Frustration with a society that has either forgotten or
has never learned manners and how to treat people. We used to blame
the parents when we witnessed a child's bad behavior, but the bad
behavior is increasingly done by parents AND grandparents. Rudeness,
ignorance, a lack of respect for people or even themselves. That
frustration felt by many of us is what made us cheer for not only
him, but his creative and unique way of saying, "take this job and shove
it"!
That about covers it as we know it up to now. I have a feeling the
rest of the facts will be surfacing soon, but one thing that you CAN
bet money on...
I'll just bet Slater will end up OK and actually find a way to parlay
this into something that will generate way more money than his salary
at JetBlue!
Have a great weekend everyone!
:-)
Jamie