The Global Gratitude Show with Brittanie Navarrete

0:00Welcome to the Global Gratitude Show with Tanya Anderson, where hearts open, kindness connects us and stories of giving light to the world. Each week, Tanya brings you inspiring voices from around the globe, people spreading hope, love and gratitude in their own extraordinary ways. So take a deep breath, open your heart, and get ready to celebrate the power of positivity. Hello everyone. Today I am in Houston interviewing a lovely young lady, Brittany Navarette, who's at flight base in San Diego. We used to fly charter trips together, but now she's taken a big step in aviation and we're going to hear all about it. A few months ago, she wrote me a beautiful note about inspiring her and I was so grateful to receive it.

1:00It was just one of the most lovely notes I've ever received. So I'd like to welcome you Brittany to the show and thank you so much Tanya. It's so great to see you. As I've told you before, just so the audience knows we met when I got my first job in aviation and that was when I was 22. We were private flight attendants together, doing all sorts of charter operations and you and these other wonderful women in the industry gave me my first impression of the energy and the environment and the community. So you, Tia Dora, Laurie, Mary, Tracy, Michelle, even, also like such a high standard of just love and peace and your professionalism and mentorship. And so I have carried that sweet memory with me for all these years and I'm so grateful for all these other women I've gotten to meet throughout the industry, but you really set that gold standard. Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

2:04I think our first flights together. I don't know if you remember, but I was thinking back and I was like, I think it was when we went over to Kuwait and we went and smoked Shisha in that Lebanese restaurant. Do you remember? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's so funny. And I didn't know how strict. So I come down in little biker yoga shorts in the Omar Castillo was there and he's like, girl, where are you paying for that? And I was like, oh, I don't know. And I have, I'm wearing a Punjabi outfit. So, okay, I definitely have some learning to do. Oh, it's wonderful. I know that's a lot of Omar. Oh, my gosh. He's so great. It's trouble with. So anyway, I mean, the amazing thing is in this industry too, as you know, women are constantly trying to assert themselves. And of course, I have a few stories about that. But tell me, tell me what what your experience is.

3:07It's been a while since we've last worked together. So if you can take me back and give me a little bit of background and then tell me how what's it like now? You've taken this big step in aviation. What what is like in your in your current position? Absolutely. Um, so for context for the listener, we work together for about five years doing charter operations. And I think what people don't realize is that women really run the show behind the scenes. It is like 80% women. And so that I would love to see documentaries on. And I know that a lot of our contract work is confidential to some degree. But I do think that there's such a niche industry that is, you know, blind to the average eye. And it's the most beautiful operations to be a part of. And so when I did left, when I did leave the operations, I ended up getting a contract with another private jet company to do corporate flying. But I just wanted to kind of take a break from flying. So as you and I have such common ground, I went in solo traveled for quite a bit.

4:09Right. And then I then I started my pilot training. And so I am currently a commercial pilot, which is, you know, you know, such a fun, uh, such a fun thing to, uh, uh, end or on your journey. And that itself is so humbling because you think like, okay, with all these other elements, you know, that I'm going to face and all these adversities, you have to become the student again. And you just get humbled constantly by this industry point. That's a good point. Uh-huh. And so it can be so embarrassing. And you know, everyone has like their own pride and ego. And you know, it takes a lot to like take all the constructive criticism. They like, okay, I need to, you know, lock in and, um, and while I've been flying, I have been able to also be a, like, operations specialist for private jets out of an FBO here in San Diego. So every day at work is just, you know, every jet setter, uh, you know, that you can imagine that goes into the San Diego area.

5:17We get, you know, military, we get politicians, we get celebrities, you know, we get, you know, the tech billionaires, you know, and so it is just so fun every day that I go to work. It's just, it's, yeah, it's ever-changing and it's such a wonderful environment to be in. A lot of my colleagues actually are commercial pilots too. We're female commercial pilots. Are on the team with me. Yeah, just casually, just so casually. Oh, I'm also once. It's such a wonderful environment to be in. So I really encourage anyone who is curious about aviation, especially if you're a woman and you don't know where to start. There are so many job opportunities and niche careers that you can have, not just pilot or flight it to net. There's really, you know, a whole spectrum that, you know, runs the show. It's like a whole orchestra. Yes, yeah, absolutely. And you know, I flew five, five, five and a half years out of Van Eyes,

6:18flew corporate. And so I would fly on Gulf Streams, then, you know, configured to like 10 to 12 seats, but that's like cheek to gel. So of course, we get the Hollywood types and all that. And of course, yeah, I'm dying to hear what they say because I've been screen actor skilled since 2000. So like I want to hear, but you know, you're, you know, you're describing all that stuff. And then we also had a 727 configured 51st class seats. And we flew YouTube for their entire North American tour. We flew the band Chicago. We flew teams, you know, but sometimes, you know, you would just get a call. Are you available on Wednesday? And they say, okay, this is what the customer wants. They want these DVDs for their kids, you know, to play. So you run out and do your thing, you know, particularly. And in those days, you know, they would ask for a certain kind of coffee that really wasn't really available. And you'd be making all these phone calls, you know, around 11, all that sort of thing. I mean, it's just a, it's just a different world. But one of the best compliments I ever got was on the, because I used to work on West Wing background,

7:19right? And one time in an episode, they dressed me up as a full bird kernel in the situation room at the White House. And so I was walking around Warner Brothers Studios, right? And you know, people are looking at me because the uniform fit perfectly. The shoes, the whole thing, you know, wardrobe is superb, right? Yeah. A couple of weeks later, you know, we're, we're flying VIPs in our 727. And this lady says, I've seen you at WB. And I thought, oh my god, that's what are the best compliments I've ever had. Absolutely. So I hear you. I hear. So sorry, sorry. I just small world. No, no, it really is such a small world. It's so funny. You say that because my instrument instructor, you know, and he got into the industry when he was you know, 48, 49 from a completely different industry. And he now flies private jets. And he's based out of Vegas. So he does a lot of day legs in and out, you know, San Diego, LA, Vanize, back to Vegas. And I'm at work where he doesn't really know I even work there then.

8:20And he walks in and we both look at each other like, oh, I know. It's such a small world. And I go, what are you doing? He's like, oh, I just, you know, flew in the Honda jet down here. And so it's so fun. And I mean, there's just so much common ground. I know that I even after I resigned with our contract work flying as flight attendants, I didn't miss a lot of the elements. And of course, we worked with the military so closely. I remember thinking, okay, I'm at this age, you know, at that time, I was like 27. I was like, okay, do I want to join the Air Force and become an Air Force flight attendant because I just love being around the military and my dad is in marine, my grandpa is in marine. I know that. Okay. Uh-huh. I went and actually talked to an Air Force recruiter and they said, you have to work, you know, one job for three years. And then you can request to change. So I was like, okay, you know, I'm thinking of my timeline now. I was like, okay, maybe this isn't the path for me. Loan behold though, I now work with one of my dearest friends. He was an Air Force flight

9:22attendant who I work alongside with now. We just closed together last night. He was an Air Force flight attendant for 10 years through the Vice President of the United States for both administrations. Right. Right. That's cool. That's cool. Wow. It's just it's so interesting that, you know, I had that seed planted and then lo and behold, I meet someone in the industry who's just such a light to the world. He's so great. And so there are so many job opportunities, you know, so many directions if you want to go to the military route or not. And so now we have the same role together and we, you know, cackle about our flight activities all the time. That's what I call synchronicity. And also when you're very positive and you constantly send out the universe, this is what I want. And we all have a couple of setbacks, but don't get depressed about it because if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. And you just keep going. Now I flew a White House press charters for Pan Am the last year that we were alive. I've been reading your book and your life is just full of so many adventures. You are the most interesting world in the world. What's that tequila company or

10:24something? It shouldn't be the most interesting man in the world. It should be you. But I'd love to like, you know, when you you fly the president to any given city and then, you know, he goes downtown to do whatever he's going to do. And I go over and chew the chew the fat with the Air Force flight attendants. And one of my junior flight attendants, said, Pam, she goes, Oh, why does this take to work on this plane? I looked at her and said, not your sister. The reason I said that is because I've been thinking that was because, you know, you have to be Air Force, which makes perfect sense. You know, because they have to go back way back and make sure, like, go back to like, you're like, you're probably talking to your grammar school teachers and find out how kosher you really are. That makes perfect sense. You don't hire somebody at 25 years old that this never had a background check and you don't know what they've been doing. So yeah, yeah, compared to like some of the the contract work, it makes perfect sense that you would have to be an active service member. And so I definitely find that very interesting. And I did learn a fun fact. And you can totally correct me or fact check me if I'm wrong.

11:28He was saying that they have these special pins. And so when we have had, you know, politicians and things like that, if we get near certain planes, we have to wear certain pins so that we don't so that the lookouts don't perceive us as a threat. As the motion shouldn't be there. So if we don't have this special pin in and they can't see that like reflective, they think we're a threat. And, you know, whoever's scoping out from yards away would do their job. And along these same lines, one time when I was at Andrews Air Force Base, because a panning would let me drive there directly. So I didn't have to, you know, travel up to New York Rose Base and then come back down on the pattern. I could just drive over to Andrews and park my chavette. One time I was poking so well, I was on the 7-2-7. One time I was poking my head out the window and I see the two. 28,000. Oh, 28,000, 29,000 on my jackpot. And you know, I'm sneaky and I'm

12:31fast. I took the picture so quickly and blah, blah, blah. And then actually had to say this, we were over in Asia about six years ago. I've only seen this there playing twice. The Doomstay aircraft. And it's so different. Oh, it's so different. And the guys, we're on the, I'm on the left-hand side of our 7-47. And Doomstay pulls up next to us and says, Oh, our guys are, oh, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, they're having a fit. And I went up to the person and she said, you're not allowed to take any pictures. I'd already taken six. But then, but then the Air Force guys are out there taking selfies with the Doomstay plane behind them. So, hey, yeah, yeah. And it is, you know, we're not, we're not posting it doing the live streams. You know, it's, there are some moments where, you know, I have asked permission or maybe I haven't. You know, we have to snap something just so we can show like, I've shown my friends and family certain things and different operations. And it's never, you know, intrusive or anything

13:35like that. So, you always make sure that like, it's within the realm that I'm allowed. Absolutely right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know some of these things. I'm like, oh my gosh, I like to joke. Do you remember that game called Mad Libs where you fill in the blank with like the adjectives or the verbs? And it creates the silliest story you've ever heard. I always say that a day in aviation is like a day living by a Mad Libs because, right, right, right, right, and dumb. And I always say I'm max flex max, maximum flexibility because exactly like you say, you can be flying along and everything stuck in then all of a sudden it's real strange. And as a matter of fact, I'm going to interview Abel at some point because he was out flying on 9 11 and how I wasn't, I was at home in a way. Yeah, yeah. So, and then hear from somebody what, what it's like when, you know, when the world's upside down and like you say, change minute by minute. And you have to be just so flexible and you have to be all ears, all eyes and, you know,

14:39and the White House, you know, when I saw 60 minutes about the White House, you know, they all ran downstairs and went into that in that shelter, all right. And the Secret Service guys were yelling because the gals are trying not to panic, you know, the AIDS and stuff like that and they're walking along, you know, and their pencil skirts in their high heels and yelling at you, drop your heels and run, drop your heels and run. You know, too many of them in there and they had to go and take some of them out because, you know, they're sucking, literally sucking the oxygen out. There's so many people in there, you know. Oh my goodness. That's so interesting. Yeah, that would be so interesting Abel's perspective flying any sort, even any other airline or smaller, charter, anything like that on that day because there are some of these shutdowns that we see a little bit more and more of like if something's going on in the airspace, they just gas all the flights, you know, and by exactly. So now for people around your age, why don't you give me kind of a recap

15:40about like if I'm a 25 or 30 years old and I want to, I love your story. I think it's amazing, good for you and you're so inspiring, very inspiring for your age and you really carved out a wonderful path for yourself. So what would you say, let like over, you know, some coffee or something to a friend or somebody who approaches you and says, okay, kind of give me an idea of what your path was in aviation. So I will flash back to when I was about 21 that I was going to a private Christian university and that was in my hometown and so both of my parents had their real estate license. I didn't love university, it was not a great fit for me. I especially this Christian university, I just had like, I love to play devil's advocate and I love to be and you know, seeing things from both perspectives and so I know that I just had so many questions. Right, which wasn't always received well. Oh dear. And so both my parents having real estate

16:47license, I was like, okay, I'm just going to take a break. It was almost, I was in my junior year and I went and kind of appeased my family. I got my real estate license also and I knew them that I wanted to travel. Yeah, so I got it out like 21 and I knew I wanted to travel and I remember in my previous college days, I just was struggling to really like fit in this box that I felt like I was being put in. Gotcha. And so when I was 19, I took this like hiatus trip to Peru where I lived there for a month and I worked with all my friends. They called a gap year in England. That's what Prince Harry and Prince William did. They had a gap year. You know, they got out of like high school, for example, they're equivalent high school. Spent one year trying, Harry went down to Central Africa. You know, you're right. Okay, George Harry. I love that he lives here in California. You know, he was that, you know, that's like heartthrob, I think of every.

17:53So now tell me how did you like Peru? Love. I so fell in love and end up being, of course, every solo traveler knows this. When you do solo travel, you say that you're going alone, but then you run into, you know, a million other solo travelers. So you end up with more people than you ever expected if you were to organize a trip. You know, you're first on tarage, right? Yeah. And so I was so fortunate. I ended up living in this volunteer like house. It was women only, and I had a roommate. She was pre-med, you know, 19, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. So, you know, so you have all sorts of elements. People just wanting to go solo travel. Then you have people, you know, who want to go into like the medical field. And so we were working with, I was helping rebuild a school kindergarten. And then the other half I went and worked with some orphans. Wow. And like a combined, you know, orphanage. It was just so, it was exactly what I needed, exactly what I needed. Wow. That's a Mayway experience. Good for you.

18:55And so that planted the seed of travel. And so that is kind of how I then was applying to like all sorts of any, any flight attendant job. And I was actually interviewing with United. And then the company that we worked for together, that was, you know, contract charter work, to say, calling me back faster. And the rest is mystery, right? Expodating, expediting the process. And so I remember getting those phone calls, though, because it was an unknown name, you know, whereas like Delta, you know, these are all like big, no names. And I just kept getting these phone calls. And I was like, who is this company? You know, I think I, I'm like 2 a.m. Really? And so I actually never, I honestly never called them back. And then I get this email that was like, oh, thank you. We're moving forward with other candidates. And I was like, hang on, hang on, pipe the breaks. Who is this company? Like, how are you sending your rejection email? I don't even know who you are. That's funny, right? Actually, when I went in and I looked into them and I immediately called them, I'm on the phone, you know, with like Jack Brown, 20 minutes later.

19:56Oh, I like him so much. Yeah. He was the one who did my interview. And that's cool. Like hired me. And so then he's like, can you come out to, to interview in a few days? And it was actually my mom who was so supportive because I was living in California. And the interview was in Houston. Okay. And so she booked me. I told her about it. And I was like, I don't know, should I go? What if I don't get the job? And you know, you're paying like $700. Um, so she booked me a plane ticket in the hotel. So I went out, was working still full time interviewed. And then the next day, they're like, hey, come to Miami. Wow. That's like a bag's pack. Just let's go. Yeah. That's amazing. And so my family was so supportive. And it was so funny, actually, because, you know, the company that we work for, there's a lot of niche jobs, like I was saying, and my family doesn't really have a huge knowledge of aviation. And so they were just convinced that I was going to, you know, be sold on the black market and

20:58have like my organs harvested. But you know, that those weird things happen. They do. They came back. They were so relieved. They're like, okay, it's very legit. Yeah, but it's taking a big step because because you don't know. And sometimes it's hard to get a, for an airline that's not one of the majors, it's hard to get the background info. So, so, yeah, yeah. And like you say, spending $700 to go to outer space and not knowing what the outcome's going to be. It's kind of a big gamble, right? You're like, well, I guess it's for the lower one. And so that was how I got my feet in. And, you know, it really moved so quickly from there. And actually, after I got my wings, my first flight was an NFL flight. They put me in with the Buffalo Bills. And, okay, that was my first. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it was really. Yeah, first flight. They were, I remember them saying, what? Well, they would tell me all the time in training. I looked just like Sabrina. And Sabrina was someone who was loved and adored,

22:01which I was so grateful for. Because then I think that just, you know, right. Right. Right. Right. Right. That's cool. That's what we need. And so they, yeah, they offered me an NFL, but I distinctly remember, like, if I moved and uprooted to Texas, you know, I had already said, oh, my goodbyes. So I told them, like, I don't want to do domestic flying. Put me on all the international, like, thank you. Because they were like, oh, you know, we also have the chargers that go in and out of LA. And I was like, I just said, oh, my goodbyes. You want to branch out a little bit more, right? So I am so grateful that they did offer that. But I knew that in there, like, I'm only looking forward. I'm, you know, not here to look back. And so ever since then, um, got to travel the world. And I would travel personally anyway and just, you know, trips to Costa Rica with some friends and, you know, road trips to Switzerland with some of the girls. Yeah. So what getting into the industry, it's, there's so many opportunities. So if you

23:02ever feel like for anyone who is, you know, looking to explore aviation, if you ever have the job that you were dreaming of, and then you think, maybe like, am I outgrowing this a little bit, or do I want to pivot these skill sets? You can certainly do so. And there's so many opportunities. I've seen it from so many of our colleagues. They pivot to, you know, become recruiters, or now they have a little bit more stability in offices. But that's still run the operations behind the scenes. Like myself, I'm on the operation side now running the scene. You know, so now, whereas before we would go to everyone, but now they come to me now. Yeah, it's interesting. And we've had a few that have gone to the FAA as well. I interviewed somebody recently. Oh, yeah. My friends with her are on LinkedIn. That's called a little LinkedIn post. Right. Right. Right. There you go. So even, I mean, even if people want to take a hiatus and, you know, leave the industry for a little bit and come back, there are so many roles. And you and me also have our mutual friend who's family friends with me, Chris Roca, who's over with Clay Lacey

24:05for over 20 years. And so it really is such a small industry. And there's so many companies now. There are so many, you know, even remote jobs that you can have if you didn't want to do the flight attendant or pilot travel route. Yeah, that's a good point that you were talking about you earlier when I got the community. Okay, for you, it's, uh, there's so many other parts, you know, like you say, it's just not pilots and flight attendants. The support team is incredible. Operations, I mean, scheduling all that sort of, or, or people that simply, I work for, that would Clay Lacey is who I work for for five and a half years. And I know, uh, the, the schedulers in there, they, they were really, uh, the people that would take the reservations. Yeah, you know, uh, and the, the VIPs and they knew some of them. They knew all their habits. They like this. They don't like that. We, we gotta, we gotta have tail number such and such available for them and, and coordinating all that. And very stressful. And, you know, and then if you're the owner, you become very dependent on those people too. Yeah, you know, it's like, I know tomorrow's

25:08your day off, but I really need you because we got this going on and that going on. So that's a, that's a big, that's a, that's a big job, you know, to coordinate all that on the operations. And we have a few tenants, you know, the hop there, G sixes, globals, you know, park tear, whatever it is. And we see their team, you know, you can become familiar with their personal management, you know, their, uh, their maintenance management, even you, you know, can go the mechanic route and be an AMP also. And just, you know, there's so many hands that go into every flight, um, which is a blessing. Uh, but you get to, you see that they're working and coming in, you know, before they even take off hours and days beforehand to make sure everything is perfect, you know, and I like to joke that everyone in aviation is, you know, they say you're either type A personality or type B personality. Uh-huh. I say everyone in aviation is a type of type A. You get your A pluses. You're right. You're right. You got your A minuses.

26:09There was no type B personalities. You either fall into one of those three. Right. I remember one time it was so funny. I went to Clay Lacey on my day off. I'm just like, you know, going to the locker, you know, and then maybe through all the supplies there, so like that. And there are three BBJs. And that was a 737 at the time. But then this is 20 years ago, right? And at that time, 55 milleach, you know, and they're all, uh, they're, they're, they're all like specialized and finished all. Yes. Yes. Yeah. So one belonged to George Marciano, the founder of Guest Jeans. The second one, Paul McCartney for the Beatles was traveling around on first tour. I can't remember the third one, but they were parked close together. So what do I do? I get my humble little Mazda Miata and I park it. Is there a road fast? Take a take a prop again. The car and the, and like $165 million worth of jazz, you know. And that's 20 years ago. Oh, it's so funny. You say that because, you know, this on what I do, we have to wear so many hats.

27:14So sometimes I'll go in the back and the airside, and I'll be dispatching what services are going to each air craft and, you know, helping the airside, I call them the airside gentlemen, you know, airside gentlemen. And so I'll be the one coordinating and you have, you know, six different computer screens up. Or sometimes, you know, you'll be out valing their cars, you know, if everyone's running around, and we had the breeder's cup, which is like similar to the Kentucky Derby, but it's over in Del Mar. So we have that every year. Every year for opening day. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. So the horses this past year, the horses flew in from Dubai. So sometimes you're just running out cars. So I always say though, I'm car shopping by whichever cars I'm helping valet to help the operations, you know, today I'm driving a Porsche. The tomorrow I'm driving a G wagon. So I'm like, this, I'm just car shopping. That's amazing. It blows me because I Renee Boyd and I were based in Dubai. Well, she was longer than me. I was there six months,

28:17but she was longer. And the cars you see, because I'm car mad too. I had a friend Warren Brown. He's not with the same longer, but he was aviation. I just sorry about automotive media for the Washington Post. He also had a weekly radio show, but he had a column that was syndicated. And I actually met him at the car show up in Pebble Beach. And we were like, it's at friends, but the thing about the cars, my God. And then one time we were down in San Diego and they had flown in a bunch of Aston Martin's from London, because they wanted him to drive it. And Warren told them that I was a trust fund kid. I was running late because Stephen Spielberg's word, the world, it was an all night shoot. And I said, yeah, I'm going to, we get wrapped at 0600. I got to go home, have a little snooze. And then I'll come to San Diego. So he told them I was a trust fund kid and they, they said, well, we've put the cars to bed, but we'll bring one out. So she can. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. And so it's so funny because they're like, oh,

29:20you know, Brittany, can you help Valley this car? I go, oh, yes, I can. I look at the, you know, and, oh, my God. And just like when the horse is fluent for the breeders cup, you know, of course, we're being cheeky and teasing like, oh, which, which horse are you going to buy next knowing these horses are like millions of that. She's also the insurance, you know, any time, you know, when you have to buy that special insurance, a lot of people, I don't think know that, you know, and your insurance goes up like kaboom. But one time I walked on to a golf stream, because then in, they wouldn't tell us in advance who it was. They just said the customer wants this, this and this. Okay. What's the ball stream? So it seats like 10, you know, and then it has three panels. And on each of the three panels, it has the horse head etched into the crystal of the owner's favorite horse. And you know, friends, I've had friends in the Middle East since I was nine years old. And I'm kind of like, wow, who is this? I mean, I'm like, okay, but I'm like, who is this? Who is this? You know, you make a pencil a little bit here and there. And if you do

30:27for anyone listening, if you do want to go on the private side of aviation, there's a lot of discretion, which is sometimes hard because, you know, you are, you know, so excited about things, but you really have to, you know, keep it under your head. Manage, manage all the information that you receive in your own mind. And you're like, okay, so it, you know, I think that's where colleagues become so close, you know, you just become one big family and it helps everyone's in the same world. You know, you have the same mentality, you have the same professional goals. And there's a lot of common. Exactly. You're experiencing, you know, all sorts of stresses, whether you are on the, you know, traveling with the aircraft or, you know, on the other operational and, you know, trying to help facilitate catering and, you know, fuel services and making sure they get the correct fuel. And, you know, oh, yeah, but you have to, you have to know, like, who's on first as they used to say, you know, and then, and then commit, and like, if I do something wrong, just say, Tony, wait, you know, incorrect me, just say, you know, blah, blah, blah. I heard you say

31:28such and such on the phone, but it's actually this. And that's fine too. I have to accept that because you're seeing it from a different POV. And maybe you, you, you, you, prevent me from making some idiot mistake, you know, no, you can't be offended. You have to say, you know, thanks for saving my, yes, saving me out because like I was about ready to make a mistake. And, because it's very, it's very precise too. Yeah, you have to really know what you're doing. And, yeah, and have those honest conversations with yourself of like, okay, did I show up as I was needed today or did I not? Or, you know, in my, as a pilot, you know, in my, in the best head space, because if you have a rough day or, you know, you lose a family member, I will say they do recognize what a hazard that can be. If you have any strong, like, emotional thing that you're processing. And so I am happy to see I'm a huge advocate, as you know, for mental health and having these tough conversations, then you know, always be one to be an ally and

32:28speak out. And so if you ever feel like this might hinder, you know, your journey and aviation, just know everyone experiences so many, so many of their own challenges. And actually, what I didn't mention before was that that's how I kind of segwayed into traveling was that when I was really young, like nine, 10 years old on my mom's side of the family, everyone just passed away. And so I only have ever since I've been like 10 years old, I've only ever had like one living uncle. Wow. Wow. And so, and that makes you stronger in the end. That, that's really, I didn't know that. And so I'm a huge advocate. And actually, there are so many ways I've tried to cope with grief throughout the years. And you know, I didn't lose my mom, but I do feel like I lost a version of her, you know, having to navigate that with, you know, I have five siblings. And so she's so strong. And, you know, of course, I'm so close with both my parents. But if anyone can relate to that, you know, when I didn't tell anybody either, and I kept this from even my

33:33hometown friends, you know, I didn't know what anyone to know, like how much I struggled with grief growing up. But once I got into aviation, I swear to you, Tonya, it was just like I immediately knew I was so safe with the community around me. That was when I opened up. That was when I really opened up about, you know, having to lose like half my family as like a child and seeing that when I lost them and was attending like more funerals and weddings, you know, that was my perspective, you know, nine, eight, 10 years old. I remember those swearing to myself, because, you know, that side of the family was stable, you know, my great grandpa had lived in the house he built with his bare hands. No, that's remarkable. I just remember swearing to myself, though, like I am going to live this life. Like God, I just want to experience it all, you know, because the, you know, they passed away. It just in their 60s, very early 60s, all of them. And it's like, boom, boom, boom, my, and so, and so there is some anxiety now that my mom's in her 60s. Oh, no, no,

34:39don't just just just just send it all the positive energy. I send her love and positive energy that she's in perfect health. You just get it, get with the affirmations, you know what I mean? Yeah, she's sharp too. Yeah, she's still like, you know, it's cool, what she loves. And so, but I will say, you know, for anyone who is looking for community or, you know, has interest in this industry too, you know, you don't just go to work, but everyone is going to work navigating all these big things. And if you are looking to heal, I would say travel the world, because that has helped me heal more alone than, you know, any sort of like self-help book or podcast, like going and doing solo trips really helped come full circle. And help me like really set in stone, who I am, you know, what perspective. Yeah, yeah. Exactly. Yeah. And that way, I don't feel like I'm having to live by like what others want me to be. I'm getting to process and kind of cope, you know, maybe escapism is like, oh, we're that, you know, the professionals like to you.

35:42You know, I mean, you're just bringing so much to my mind. Like, for example, and I'd written down in my notes earlier, I have this discussion with you, but also about how you, how people from other countries and other cultures view us through totally objective eyes, you know, sometimes it's amusing. Sometimes it could be a little annoying, but it's remarkable. So you were doing your own journey of searching and finding things which is amazing because, you know, if Oprah still had her TV show, you'd be the perfect guest because you're telling her, no, but you're like overwhelmed at a very young age, all the sorrow and all these things. Well, everybody else is having it, you know, you're kind of in their lives. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You're like, wait a minute. Wait a minute. But then you carved out your own, you know, and to get back just a little bit to clarity of mine, you reminded me of two things where we had to have clarity of mind with PNM. But the first one

36:43was when we lost our airplane over Lockerby and it was so shocking, you know, and Lockerby, Scotland, December 21st, 1988. And our union, we had a very strong flight at Union. They said, if you guys don't want to fly for, you know, a few weeks, it's okay that, you know, well, we'll support you. The company won't fire you. So that was a December 21st. Christmas morning, I got a phone call. I was person with PNM. I got a phone call and said, Tony, would you be willing to work the London flight 100, you know, from New York to London? And I said, yes, I'll do it without without hesitation because I call my family where I'm an only child. You fall off the horse and you get right back on. And I did. And I remember in your book, you did mention how your father passed away at a young age too. Right. You do feel this happiness and that is very present in aviation too because if someone doesn't come home from a flight, you know, every, you know, safety, safety, just back. But I do think that there's so many people

37:44out there that can resonate with, you know, trying to manage and navigate through these seasons. And aviation attracts so many people from every different, you know, wake alive. I know you and me are only three years apart. All right. Oh my gosh. But you know, also, sorry, go ahead. I wouldn't say, but that that way, if you are trying to kind of make your way through certain chapters and seasons, there are so many like yourself, incredible women that, you know, help give guidance or, you know, give that tiny bit of support. And so, and I, or just people who can empathize, I know when I lived in Texas, no one wanted to, you know, really work in the holiday season. So I would always VX my days every day, you know, for all the holiday seasons in case anyone wanted to be home with their family there. So I was like, well, my family's not even here in Texas. Like if you want to go home, like I couldn't relate more to that feelings or you go and like, I know that that just sets, helps set the culture and like communal energy of, you know,

38:50relying on each other and trusting each other. Yeah. Yeah. It's, um, I mean, like you say, so it's so important to, well, you're very open, you're open hard and open mind. You go into life and open heart and open a mind. That's a drive. That's a really good. And then there was another time when our union said that we didn't have to fly if we didn't want to. So that was like the build up to the first Gulf War. And Pan Am had a civilian reserve air fleet program with the military that in the event of a national emergency that we would turn one or as many they want. We have 38, 747s. We'd turn a lot over if that's what they needed to transport material and things like that to the Middle East. And so, um, but it was interesting, but they did, the union did say they were protect us, but you know, nobody ever called and sick because for us, it was just kind of another kind of adventure. Thank God we never had an incident. But there were a few times when we had a plane on the ground in Daharam, which is the east coast of Saudi Arabia, about 250 miles south

39:53of Kuwait, where the, the scuttle alarm would go off, you know. And they see, oh, we'd come back and give a briefing on the way in. This is how you wear the gas mask because if we did have an alert, you can't go run and say to one of the, you know, one of the military personnel, hey, can you show my crew how to put on again? Real quick, quick, we're all running for the hills, you know, by the way. Oh, yeah, I do remember in flight attendant training, you know, you have this quick downing mask, which has come full circle, um, because when I just got my commercial pilot's license, they asked you, you know, about pressurization systems and you have to be aware of the regulations and, and you always have to prepare as best you can for any emergency. My partner actually had just experienced engine failure. So it was about a week ago. Yeah, really him, him and, yeah, him and it's comical. And in a sense, I'm so grateful they're okay. But, you know, it's just

40:57another day and another. That's so scary. What a toy failure. Twin jets. Uh, no, it was just a small, small little, uh, paper like plane. Okay. And so they, um, you know, we fly just for fun here and there. So thank God it was just, you know, it wasn't a serious flight or anything like that. But they ended up having to do an emergency landing on the freeway on the freeway. And so I'm not, I'm not brunch with my friends, you know, I texted on a picture of my avocado toast and the reply I get back is, oh, hey, by the way, we just landed on the freeways. Oh, really? No kidding. Ah, that gives me turkey skin. Oh, Lord, you guys, I gotta go step out and, you know, make sure everything's okay. And I swear to you, Tonya, you know, his guardian angels are exhausted. They want to clock out. They're one over time. Not time to give us a break in heaven. Pass the baton. Wow, wow, wow. That's okay. I mean, they did a great, amazing drops

42:04themselves piloting it because everyone was okay. There was no damage to the aircraft. And there happened just so happen to be two pilots driving on the highway, recognizing that they had an emergency landing and the pilots that were on the highway were serving, you know, police style to slow down and stop the traffic so that they could land. I was like, just hearing that, like guardian angels and, you know, they go to the side and they checked on them. And I asked my partner, like, did you get their information? You know, can we thank them? You know, I really want to send a nice message and I have no, but he goes, I have no idea what their names even were. And so I'm just convinced, you know, there are angels like all around us because they just stop the traffic so that way you don't worry about it. And they had at least like less, less obstacle, lesser obstacle, you know, in that scenario. Oh my god. And so, you know, a few days later, he's like, you want to go flying? And I'm like,

43:05oh my god. Guardians of the galaxy, you know, it's so amazing because people are so back sometimes they think, oh, they hear the ambulance coming or whatever it is. And they think, I'll just sneak on by, that burns my tail. It really doesn't need to be stolen. I have no idea. Yes. Yeah. And I was a, yeah, I was a pedestrian one time. It just a big crosswalk in LA. And these people are there that are stopped. Like, you can hear the ambulance coming from, from, you know, way way back box one. And this lady, she's not texting or anything, but she's just there. She's in the right lane. And it's coming up behind her. And I point at her, just just like on the airplane, I go, you make a right turn. Get out of my way. It was like, somebody is slapping her in the face. She like, snap right out of it and got out of the way. But what I mean, it's like she froze, just froze. So people got weird stuff. So, so good for the police when they, they did, they did the perfect, like you say, the perfect case scenario, you know? Yeah. Well, it was that pilots, like off duty pilots that were driving. And then you know how

44:10the police swerve on the highway. So they did that. The police kind of arrived at. And so I'm a firm believer of like that, you know, also saving their lives. Cause if a plane is coming down and a car doesn't see them, you know, even if they land safely, a car can smash right into them. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. And my concern is always the power lines. Cause I'm like, okay. No kidding. No kidding. Wow. Wow. I will say though, if anyone does do pilot training, you know, there are a lot of good hotspots throughout the country. But Cindy, I go that alone, I was like the military presence here in all the flight schools have, you know, saved lives again today. Right. Absolutely. Wow. Wow. It is a great city. I love San Diego so much. It's such a great area to be in. You know, everyone is such. I just taken the initiative like that. I feel like, you know, that's not common in big cities that people are very aware and you know, cognizant of what's going on around them. And so I'm always grateful for, you know, people

45:16I hate helping eight others, you know, absolutely. I've been standing here for three and a half years and absolutely adored it. And the guy that my friend, Steve Phillips, who I was staying with him and his wife over Christmas on a point, Loma, you know, and I also, so yeah, we were roomies years ago. And then I was also, I lived on Coronado. But one time this has to underscore what you just said, but this has to do with the Navy. There was a little girl kidnapped in Coronado. But this is like about 1981-82. And she was like four years old. And the consolation was docked in town. So they asked the sailors if they had any volunteers. I mean, I think they were about 4,500 of them on the ship. Did any volunteers to, and the time to, for the perspective, Coronado had a, like a population of about 23,000, something like that. And when you have volunteers to go look for this little girl, they found her in no time. They're just branching out, not going on. Of course. Yeah. And thank God, because if they had not been in dock, I dare say the,

46:20this guy probably, yeah, just wouldn't, wouldn't made off at that little kid. Yeah. So I mean, wow. Yeah. Well, I know, I mean, make sure heart stops. So this, and you recognize the emergency situation. You act, we ask to it and do the best you can to, you know, mitigate it, you know, like. And of course, you learn with experience too. I mean, you know, I'm grateful that he has the experience. I'm more grateful that he's safe than, you know, unharmed. But these are things as we grow on challenge ourselves, which is why I think it's so fun to pivot in the industry because you can come across, you know, scenarios that you would never have expected in your previous roles. And it just like helps you grow as a person and professionally. And you can help either like empathize or, you know, use that knowledge to guide for future references because everything is so reactive with all of the regulations in place. I know that when we were in training, they would always say like, oh, the regulations are written in blood. And so you always want to stay proactive.

47:25And there is just so many, so many technologies nowadays to help stay proactive, which, you know, is really fun seeing the industry grow. Right. Yeah. And I'm so curious to see how it grows, you know, in the next 10, 20 years. And you know, I love what you said about the psychological part of it and the mindset because that's a, that's a really, really important thing. And there's there's a lady. And I don't even know her personally, but she was from Pan Am and she got her PhD in psychology. And then she, she counseled, she's counseled flight attendants that have had loss in industry or, you know, incidentally, very heavy days. Yeah. Yeah, really is. Or even, going back to the early 90s, when US Air had like four different, very serious incidents in a, in a space of like a few years. And FAA told my friend who was with the EAP, the employees assistance program told, told my friend, you guys have one more incident. We're just shutting down

48:27the airline for good. You guys are gone. You know what I mean? Because they had so many things. And so like I was unemployed at the time. And because Pan Am and going bankrupt, and my friend said to me, do you want to come down to North Carolina because we have a bunch of psychiatrists that, that flight attendants can just vent. And so, so I did. And I can tell you even to this day, some of the things that they said. And one of the ladies that spoke was Jan Murray, who was the flight attendant on the United Airlines 232, that cartwheeled in Iowa that time. And because they lost all the hydraulics on the DC-10 and all three engines. And what's amazing is when the pilots call into the tower and they're, they're talking to the, the PIC at the tower. And he's, and they say we've lost hydraulics on all three engines. I mean, I, I get Turkey skinned just saying it to you. And, and he said, what? Because you couldn't believe it. It was unprecedented. You know, especially all three, you know, maybe one or two, but right, right. Oh my gosh. Well, I think that's amazing

49:29that you were able to go and speak to these professionals. And I will say a book that I have recommended to other flight attendants is, especially navigating their grief for so long, is this book called The Body Keep Score. And it talks about how anything you experience, if you don't have, you know, these honest conversations with yourself. And it took me, let me tell you to tell you, it took me to well over 20 years to learn how to grief properly. Oh, well, good, good. Let's do that. That's amazing. But these, these books have definitely helped. And that one is actually the founding father who created the diagnosis PTSD. And so he talks about all sorts of, yeah, I will have to look up who the author is actually really quickly. But he talks about how regardless of what you experience in the scale of it, if you can't process it, you know, emotionally, then it just, you know, harness stays, you know, caged and harnessed in your body, and it manifests in so many different ways. You know, illnesses, you know, physical conditions,

50:34you know, as we see, you know, hair loss, things like that. And so it's so, so important to be aware of that. And you know, really know that you're like on a good page with everything that's going on. And, you know, being able to have these like transparent conversations, if you need help to always ask for help, you know, there's so many people around you that can relate. Yeah. And so, but I know some people just know how to navigate through or it's a new experience. So I always love, you know, advocates like yourself that will go in and start these conversations because I think sometimes it's the hardest part is starting the conversation. It can be a uncomfortable or awkward. But to kind of have either even like a creative outlet where you can just express it, you're like, Oh, okay. Right. You know, I let it out. No, no, I'm so glad that you brought that up. And I haven't heard of this book, but that that's fantastic. I'm going to run it by the Vietnam veteran. I told you about who got his PhD in psychology. And now who had his PTSD for years, decades,

51:36because Vietnam. And then he went back and got his PhD. And now he counts as others. He's a wonder, Dr. Robert Hool, I interviewed him twice and he's an amazing man and now we're friends. But it's so it's so important to know, like you say, the resources are there. So the body keeps scored. And that's a fascinating thing because like you say, if you run an underground, and you're trying to be stoic, maybe or like, and they starts to fester a bit. And I'm sure you know that after World War II, there were so many veterans like all over Europe coming back to the US and of course the Pacific theater coming back and they're absolutely traumatized. But in those days they weren't encouraged to talk about it. It was just like, you know, they're having all these nightmares and they're doing all these strange things. And they wouldn't talk about it. And most of them have civilian wives. So the civilian wives, this is a whole new gig, you know. But now we were being much more proactive about it and realizing it's fine. It's fine to say, I had this

52:37happened in the war and I have PTSD. Can I talk to you, Brittany? Do you know somebody that I can talk to? Who's really effective? It's so. Oh, yeah. Do that. Oh, yes. Yeah. My sister used to get night terrors. I mean, and even if you don't have, you know, military experience, but you experience certain things like that, she would have these bizarre. Let me tell you why I'm very, very confident that, you know, the spiritual world is always there's always, you know, angels around us and, you know, other elements. But anyway, my sister, my my sister used to have these night terrors. And they would be aggressive. They would be very violent. And you know, sometimes you just need to be able to reach out to anyone like, why am I experiencing this? You know, and it was only her of our siblings that should wake up screaming and she would always run into our rooms or right next to each other. She would come running into my room, you know, making sure that I was okay, because

53:39in a lot of these night terrors, I would be physically harmed, you know, which was I'm sure is if you hated going to bed, but she was able to navigate through that. So that was very interesting growing up. And this was shortly after we had lost like all of our relatives on my mom's side. And so I think possibly, you know, maybe this was some sort of manifestation of grief, is that, you know, your body's not sure how to navigate through. And maybe you're getting night terrors now because she's a little bit older than me. So I'm sure her memory was a little bit. I was 10, 9, 10 when all of that happened. And she was sure enough like 13, 14, 15 years old. And so I do think that that that might be connected, you know, if she wanted to expand on it more, of course, that Turks ran. But you never know it. You know, so many different ways that your body can be trying to talk to you. Right. Right. Now, thank you for that. A little bit of a different subject, because this has to do with how what we do for living, sometimes interacts with

54:42with current events, one way or another. Oh, yes. Like you said, very much. Yeah, like, like in 2009, 2000s, we flew the governor for his reelection campaign. And then two days later, we were flying his opponent, which is kind of funny. And then you might see a little clip of the news. And here we go. Or yeah, I know it is like funny. Or like recently, our company flew the Seahawks. And so I saw some of our colleagues on the news, which was really, really exciting. But tell us about what happened recently with astronauts. Oh, okay. So for those who don't know, so we did have the NASA and SpaceX astronauts who had ended their mission early and they had landed off the coast of California. They dropped down in the Pacific Ocean. And I remember going into work one day. And you know, I call her the director, even though her title is the GM. Whenever I think just so highly of someone I got in my mind, I just, you know, they get a promotion

55:44to director. That's cool. But GM, she comes up and she goes, Hey, so we have some important figures coming into tomorrow, you know, the astronauts are dropping down. And one of them is sick. And they want to stay together. And so they are going to be flying out together here. And so we're going to be getting, you know, the NASA private jet and, you know, helping facilitate all of these things. And, you know, all of, I'm sure, you know, all of their operations were changing every second, you know, every hour, every minute, every second. So their team had come in and you know, we have some conference spaces that they can work and you have some quiet space and privacy. And so we were so fortunate enough to be able to meet. I was working, you know, and I was able to meet and speak with some of the astronauts. And they were so kind. And just, just truly, truly inspiring people, so professional, you're so brilliant. And they make it all

56:49look so easy. Right. Right. Right. Right. And not not panties. Look at the ones that were up there. And it got, it got postponed. I'm kind of returning to earth. And then these people were saying, oh, they get a free vacation. I didn't find it funny at all. If I, if there were my relatives, and I love them, and they're not my relatives, but I mean, I was still setting good energy that everything went well because to be up there and the unknown, like, okay, how much longer we're going to be up there. So like, like, again, back to what you said, you have to be mentally very, very stable for that. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And you could tell to that. So they were so great, you know, NASA had come through and given us like portraits and autographs and like patches. And I know from our past military contract work, you know, some from time to time, you know, every branch of the military has their own fun little patches, you know, that they'll give to some of the flight attendants. And so it took me back immediately when they handed me a patch for this mission. I was like, right. Yeah, I just want to collect. I just want to have that's

57:51one of my life goals is just to, you know, have my own office space with all of my patches. I don't remember all of these operations. It's just incredible. Yeah, you're, of course, again, you're reminding me of things. So like, I worked for American Airlines for three years, and one time I was boarding in DCA. And these three guys come down the jetway and their energy is so different. And I couldn't see my figure. They're wearing like probably our monies suits. You know what I mean? And it's an older guy and then the two younger guys. And so like, you know, of course, I greeted them, directed them to the seats. And then after takeoff, I went to chat with because I'm like, I got to find out what these guys do. Turns out they're, they're astros and that's that's an astronaut trainer, right? You know? So he gave me to a VIP invites to go down and see a launch. So I went down, yeah, yeah, went down and my girlfriend Kay flew in from San Diego. She lived in North County. And she came in and then we watched these space shuttle Atlantis takeoff.

58:54And as you know, they take off so fast. So this is in the 90s. So I have to watch the launch to my camera because if you hesitate and say, Oh, Brittany, I'm so excited. I've already lost it. Look at this guy. Why was 17,500 miles an hour? Isn't that the gig? So impressive. And they have so many missions now. So this one specifically that I got to meet and work with was the the dragon mission 11. And I mean, they're, I mean, the patches are awesome. And just the work they do. It's so interesting. And you know, I am a huge advocate for having more exploration in space. And I just think that that's a whole nother realm to explore. It's just phenomenal. And so I really can't wait to see, you know, what else happens. And supposedly we're going back to the moon. I don't know if we I watched Apollo 13. Well, not too long about a year ago. And I'm like, wow, there you go,

59:58you know, when you can see their breath is so cold in the capsule. I'm like, oh, no. But yeah, I mean, it, it NASA is extraordinary. My father, part of my love for aviation got started. You know, even when I was really young, my father used to take me out on the front lawn with on his shoulders. And he would point out the early bird satellite. But see, that was a big deal in those days. He's like, and you know, he was in to NASA. He had a really good friend in Oklahoma who built his own small airplane. I mean, wow. So that's what sparked me to all, to all that to be so curious and expert exploration. But NASA, I mean, they're just, they're just a different energy because my VIP tickets were K and I sat in the bleachers. We were sitting with the, the man who had the lab rats is talking behind us. And they want to see how the lab rats are going to do in space. One of the professors who teaching the astronauts. Now, we were the only like the tourists there. Everybody else was, you know, everyone else like,

1:00:59you know, you got it. My ears are burning like on both sides and trying to hear all the conversations because they're talking, they're talking the real stuff. Not that, you know, what part of Iowa are you from? Which is so interesting. And so my curiosity also with the space exploration is, you know, their brilliance is completely underrated because, you know, as a pilot, you have to learn like aerodynamics and, you know, certain, you know, laws, the physics of how it affects the aircraft and all of that. And, you know, having to learn a whole new field, you know, it's a completely different atmosphere that they're working in. So you're trying to do all the calculations. Like, I can only imagine my hats off. And then also, yeah, I had a picture on my laptop for the longest time. And it was actually sent to me by an Iraqi general that I know. And it's really cool. And they're out on that tether. They're just out of the space. All you see is this guy in a white, you know,

1:01:59in his white flight suit. Oh, it's basically, yeah. Yeah, yeah, space, sorry, space suit. And then, and you just see the little tether. And all around, it's just, it just blows my mind. It's literally otherworldly. It's otherworldly. Oh, truly, truly otherworldly. I'm oddly enough, I feel more comfortable with the idea of like, okay, yeah. You know, the space shuttles and everything might become more of a common thing, you know, 50, 60 years from now, that might be, you know, your normal commute. Oh, you're going to come to the space station with some help that is more comfortable to me than the idea of, you know, doing deep sea diving. I don't know. Right. Right. To be in the air. It's just that, that's really like the definition or the image in my mind of true exploration. It's absolutely remarkable. Well, listen, I do, this has been an extraordinary interview. I just love it. And wow, wow, wow. So we have so much to talk about and I'll have to have you back. But I would like you to tell the listeners of any closing thoughts

1:03:03that you want to say or anything that comes to mind. I would say, um, I mean, there are so many elements that we talked about, you know, personally, professionally. And so for the listener, I would just say continue to pursue your passions in whatever season you are navigating through. You know, don't be afraid to reach out and to create a community around you. And of course, you know, Tonya is so amazing. And you know, if you haven't read her book, that will also inspire you. Thank you. But no matter how old you are, you know, or what season of life you're in, just to stay true to yourself and just know that, you know, life is a reflection of your mindset. So, you know, it's this big, beautiful life that we have to live. So just, you know, have all that gratitude, enjoy each and every day. We really don't know how long we're going to have. So just, you know, have the best time that you can being the best version of yourself that you are, you know,

1:04:05whether that be creative or, you know, scientific, it's just something that everyone needs to embrace, you know, who they are as a person, regardless of what that looks like. Thank you. You're absolutely right. Beautifully introduced. Thank you. Expressed. Thank you so much for having me on, Tonya. I just adore you so much. And I admire you so much. That's so sweet. We'll always tune in and hear, you know, what adventures you're, you're on to next. I know you, you as well. I mean, yeah, yeah, yeah. Boy, you're at the starting gate every single day. That's great. What's my dear? Take care, God bless, Viacandios, and hopefully we'll talk again soon, all right? Yes, yes. Bye, Tonya. Thank you. Take care. Bye, bye. You've been listening to the Global Gratitude Show with Tony Anderson here on the Brushwood Media Network. Every week, Tonya brings stories that remind us. Gratitude is a universal language, one that transcends borders, upless hearts, and inspires us to give back. If today's conversation

1:05:11touches your heart, share the gift of gratitude, pass this episode along to someone you love, and help the ripple of kindness grow. Join us next time for more voices of compassion, joy, and hope, celebrating the goodness that unites us all. Until then, remember, be kind, stay grateful, and keep sharing the love.