The only time I ever gave a working crew a gift was on a transcon redeye. I couldn't sleep and was bored, so I wandered on back and started talking to the crew, who were just as bored. I mean, there really isn't that much to do, is there? So we're killing time, and I remembered, hey, I got this stupid little gift certificate from Victoria's Secret. I went up and got it, wandered on back, and said, okay, who wants it?

Now, there was a guy there, and he laughed, and I said, well, maybe your wife can use this. He declined, and he said, give it to one of these two. Well, the married woman declined, and so I gave it to the unmarried woman.

Anyway, by this time, we were on a first name basis, so she said, Tony, I can't take this. I said, sure you can, and you'll make your boyfriend a happy man. She said that she didn't have a boyfriend, and then the guy looked at her, looked at me, smiled, and said, well, you've got few more hours. And the other woman piped in and said, you've got more than that, cause you've got the layover, too.

I think you could have used me and the other victim of the hazing as the navigation lights for a while.

Oh, yeah, and all of these guys get gifts from me when they're in town and they're off duty. I'll buy them a drink or dinner or whatever. I figure it's good karma, and that always helps.

[This message has been edited by mdtony (edited 07-12-2002).]