Special delivery
I AM SHOPPING in a big pet supermarket, looking at treats and toys, colorful collars, large bags of food, everything a pet owner could possibly need or want. I don’t think my dogs are spoiled or indulged as I draw the line at dressing them up in fussy little outfits, but they eat organic food, are brushed with a goat hair brush, sleep on soft beds. They drink filtered water.
At Flying Tigers I flew with Dorothy, a flight attendant who had elaborate garments made for her dog sewn by seamstresses in the Philippines, talented young women who could create everything out of anything, hunched over old sewing machines in hot, dark little shops lining the streets outside Clark Air Force Base.
I always wondered what the Filipino girls thought when sewing clothes for a dog. Did they resent Dorothy and her dog’s ridiculous, elaborate wardrobe, while their own kids wore t-shirts and flip flops, they themselves working long hours just to put food on the table? Did they think Dorothy was eccentric, quirky, crazy? Or did they appreciate the business, not caring what they sewed as long as they got paid? Maybe they took pride in meticulously creating cute little garments for a cute little dog.
Life in the Philippines was hard. The American military base in Angeles City fueled the economy, employed hundreds, supported thousands more. Beauty salons were everywhere. A manicure cost 75 cents, a pedicure $2.50, a really good 90-minute massage was $20. I would buy exquisite handmade Christmas ornaments every trip to the PI, darling fabric reindeer, stuffed elves, quilted stars that cost me a dollar or two, ornaments that Nordstrom sold for $20. House of Hatten was the brand name. US Customs would laugh at me, “Christmas ornaments” penned on my customs declaration in July.
I hear someone calling my name in the pet store. I
look up and see Susan, a Delta flight attendant friend whom I haven’t seen since she transferred to Atlanta. “Ann! Look, look!” Susan says excitedly, holding her phone to show me a photo of herself in her Delta uniform, holding a tiny baby. I don’t quite understand what I am looking at. I know Susan has a son, an older teenager, her baby-making days long behind her. I am confused. I hesitantly ask, “Did you adopt a baby??”
“No,” Susan says, “but I delivered one!” I look at her in shock as she tells me an amazing story about how a passenger went into labor on her flight from Africa to Atlanta. Susan noticed a pregnant woman in distress and asked if she was okay. That was the start of the whole experience.
I am standing in the pet store, utter disbelief on my face, Susan scrolling through the photos on her phone, telling me about the inflight birth. A doctor, an ob gyn, was on board, as well as two labor and delivery nurses! A flight attendant was a lactation coach! A passenger gave up his shoelaces to tie off the umbilical cord after Susan sterilized them in vodka from the beverage cart! The universe aligned that day, that so much professional help was onboard to assist in the delivery of a baby at 36,000 feet. I wonder what I would have done, how I would have reacted.
“I always wanted to deliver a baby,” Susan says excitedly. “Better you than me!” I reply. She tells me how she held up the newborn baby, snugly wrapped in a blanket, and triumphantly announced to the planeload of passengers, “It’s a BOY!”
“It was just like the Lion King,” Susan explains. “The entire plane erupted in applause and cheers!” The flight then diverted to Senegal where mama and baby were taken off and rushed to a hospital.
I encourage Susan to contact the local television station with her experience, a “feel good” story from a Tampa resident, something other than the bleak nightly news of chaos and corruption. She hesitates so I volunteer to make the call, getting permission to give them her phone number. “The news channel will love this!” I assure her.
I make the call to the local television station, tell them the story, give them Susan’s phone number. They immediately arrange an interview. Susan’s segment airs on the nightly news. It is wonderful, a unique experience with a happy ending. She looks great, her ebullient personality and obvious enthusiasm shining through every minute of the clip.
The story is picked up by news outlets all over the world.
*NOTE*
Watch it on YouTube, “Special Delivery on Row 37”