This weekend we take a nostalgic look back at flight attendants, enjoy jaw-dropping photos of some of the world’s most dangerous roads and take a look at St. Anton, one of the world’s top ski and snowboard resorts, without its normal covering of snow.
On flying, flight attendants and Aunt Manya
A top PR pro shares his thoughts about flight attendants as his aunt gets ready to retire from American Airlines after 47 years. In his words, “When I see someone who has stayed at one job more than three years I am impressed. 47 years? Not in my wildest imagination.”
What I do know is that flight attendants work very hard for very little pay; are as frustrated about the delay as I am; and that giving them grief for something they have no control over is an exercise in futility.
Like anyone who has flown a great deal, I understand my fellow passenger’s frustration (he may well have been right). The airlines sometimes make some very perplexing decisions and understanding their Byzantine fare and reservation systems is akin to reading hieroglyphics.
But I also understand that of all the jobs at an airline, the flight attendant generally has the most responsibility, the least control and the lowest paycheck. And complaining to the flight attendant is not the proper way to vent — just the most convenient one.
The 10 most dangerous but beautiful roads in the world
I am certain that there are more than one list of 10 most beautiful and dangerous roads, but these photos sure add another dimension to any list. This post and its special slide show start out,
Roads get you from point A to point B. Although, sometimes it’s the journey in between that ends up being the true focal point. Like the zigzagging Stelvio Pass that beautifully highlights Italy’s Eastern Alps, or Taiwan’s Taroko Gorge Road — a narrow highway worming through the side of a mountain that offers unexpected glimpses of the Dajia River Valley through studded holes. Although beautiful in their own ways, the roads in the list below are all united by one factor: they’re deadly. Travelers from around the world have lost their lives trying to traverse these overtly gorgeous yet unforgiving pathways.
Recently, I had a chance to drive the Splugen Pass (above) from Switzerland to Italy with its 42 hairpin turns. Other roads that wind their way to ski resorts, like the approach to Schweitzer Mountain in Idaho, Ski Apache in New Mexico or Alpe d’Huez in France, can test the mettle of drivers, too. especially in the snow.
St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria — in the summer
I am a winter woman who loves skiing. This video of one of skidom’s top international resorts focuses on the summer. I find the mountains beautiful even without their snowy cloaks. While watching this video, I can’t help marveling at some of the trails that I once skied. They seem far more daunting in the summer than when preparing to weave my way through the snow.
Illustration: AA Flight Attendant by Al Parker
After several decades working in a variety of jobs as a newspaper writer, event publicist, communications specialist, and marketing director, Karen Cummings is now “retired” and working on Travelers United’s social media and newsletters in addition to occasionally contributing a travel-related article to TU’s blog. She lives close to her family in Fryeburg, Maine, and travels as often as she can.
