1
As always at the beginning of a flight, Senior Stewardess Gwen Meighen
experienced a sense of relief as the forward cabin door slammed closed
and, a few moments later, the aircraft began moving.
An airliner in a terminal was like a dependent relative, subject to the
whims and succor of its family. Such life as it had was never
independent. Its identity was blurred; supply lines hobbled it;
strangers, who would never join its airborne complement, moved in and
out.
But when doors were sealed as the airplane prepared for takeoff, it
became once more an entity. Crew members were most keenly aware of the
change; they were returned to a familiar, self-contained environment in
which they could function with skill and independence for which they had
been trained. No one impeded them; nothing was underfoot, except what
they were used to and at home with. Their tools and equipment were the
finest; their resources and Ihnitations were inventoried
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