would have to wait around for the next one. When and if she got to JFK she would then have to take the Carey bus into the city, and then a subway or cab up to the apartment. Then the next morning sheâd have to get up and get ready and go back out to JFK for the trip she was assigned to work, and when she finished the trip three or four days later she would just hop on a flight back to Phoenix. If for any reason she missed the flight or couldnât get one, she would come and stay at the apartment again. Why would someone put themselves through this tortureâand believe it or not a great many airline pilots and flight attendants doâjust to get to work? Because they want to live where they want to live, and if thereâs not a base in that city then they have to get to a city where there is a base. Since we airline employees can fly for free, why not? Itâs complicated, but definitely part of the airline life.
Anyway, one hot August night all four of us went out carousing around the Upper East Side: smoking, drinking, and looking for men. Unsuccessful, we went home to the apartment, which lacked air-conditioning. We were all drunk as hoot owls. We were also a bit irritable because it was crowded with all four of us there at the same time and it was so bloody hotâeven with the windows wide open and two fans blowing it still felt like an oven. None of us could fall asleep. Bitsy and I were each in our respective beds, and Kitty and Rose shared the futon.
âWe should close the windows, it just brings more hot air in here,â Bitsy pointed out.
âI donât think so, if we close the windows we will just trap the heat inside; at least this way if there is a bit of a breeze, we might feel it,â Rose argued. We discussed this subject for about fifteen minutes and then Kitty got up, stumbled to the bathroom, and began taking a shower. She returned to her futon naked, with a bath towel soaked in cold water, and laid the cold, wet towel on top of her. I thought this was odd, but she said it felt wonderful and began to doze off. Then Rose decided to try this remedy, and it seemed to work just as well for her. I was next, and Bitsy was last. By the time Bitsy returned from the shower the rest of us had fallen asleep. Somehow in the darknessâwith all the naked bodies and luggage lying about the placeâBitsy accidentally tripped. She tried to save herself from falling to the ground by grabbing the collapsible shelf unit. Unfortunately for Bitsy, the collapsible shelf unit collapsed, and all her mugs fell to the ground with a great crash. âGoddamnit, there go my mugs,â she screamed. âAll I have to show for my miserable, banal, rotten life lies before me, shattered in a million pieces!â
We spent the next day taking inventory of which mugs had survived the great crash and which would have to be replaced. Billings, Paris, Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, Baton Rouge, Dallas, Cozumel, Aspen, and San Diego all survived. We were sad, however, to report that Boston; Washington, D.C.; Dublin; Tokyo; Lisbon; and Nashville were permanently destroyed. It would be very difficult to replace some of the goners because we had discontinued service to some of those cities. This was very disheartening for Bitsy because she figured that the ruined mugs represented at least two years of her lifeâgone in one fleeting moment. We observed a moment of silence in honor and in memory of the forever-lost mugs.
Although we all felt sad for Bitsy, the loss seemed to give her a renewed interest in her flying career. She decided to replace each and every one of those lost mugs and even to add new mugs to the collection. âThe phrase âmeaningful employmentâ has significance for me now. This has helped me find purpose in my job, my raison dâêtre. Finally, I have a career goal! I think I am going to pull through,â she said as she wiped away her tears and applied a fresh coat
Anyway, one hot August night all four of us went out carousing around the Upper East Side: smoking, drinking, and looking for men. Unsuccessful, we went home to the apartment, which lacked air-conditioning. We were all drunk as hoot owls. We were also a bit irritable because it was crowded with all four of us there at the same time and it was so bloody hotâeven with the windows wide open and two fans blowing it still felt like an oven. None of us could fall asleep. Bitsy and I were each in our respective beds, and Kitty and Rose shared the futon.
âWe should close the windows, it just brings more hot air in here,â Bitsy pointed out.
âI donât think so, if we close the windows we will just trap the heat inside; at least this way if there is a bit of a breeze, we might feel it,â Rose argued. We discussed this subject for about fifteen minutes and then Kitty got up, stumbled to the bathroom, and began taking a shower. She returned to her futon naked, with a bath towel soaked in cold water, and laid the cold, wet towel on top of her. I thought this was odd, but she said it felt wonderful and began to doze off. Then Rose decided to try this remedy, and it seemed to work just as well for her. I was next, and Bitsy was last. By the time Bitsy returned from the shower the rest of us had fallen asleep. Somehow in the darknessâwith all the naked bodies and luggage lying about the placeâBitsy accidentally tripped. She tried to save herself from falling to the ground by grabbing the collapsible shelf unit. Unfortunately for Bitsy, the collapsible shelf unit collapsed, and all her mugs fell to the ground with a great crash. âGoddamnit, there go my mugs,â she screamed. âAll I have to show for my miserable, banal, rotten life lies before me, shattered in a million pieces!â
We spent the next day taking inventory of which mugs had survived the great crash and which would have to be replaced. Billings, Paris, Chicago, Rio de Janeiro, Baton Rouge, Dallas, Cozumel, Aspen, and San Diego all survived. We were sad, however, to report that Boston; Washington, D.C.; Dublin; Tokyo; Lisbon; and Nashville were permanently destroyed. It would be very difficult to replace some of the goners because we had discontinued service to some of those cities. This was very disheartening for Bitsy because she figured that the ruined mugs represented at least two years of her lifeâgone in one fleeting moment. We observed a moment of silence in honor and in memory of the forever-lost mugs.
Although we all felt sad for Bitsy, the loss seemed to give her a renewed interest in her flying career. She decided to replace each and every one of those lost mugs and even to add new mugs to the collection. âThe phrase âmeaningful employmentâ has significance for me now. This has helped me find purpose in my job, my raison dâêtre. Finally, I have a career goal! I think I am going to pull through,â she said as she wiped away her tears and applied a fresh coat
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