[It's Ugly Up There]

A couple folks in this forum rightly have questioned the details of my story. I would too as there are always two sides to every story, and it's not unusual for the aggrieved to play with facts. That said, I'm comfortable with the credibility of my version. I've been a journalist, writer and op ed pro for papers and corporate for 35 years and try to achieve the elusive goal of true objectivity. The one point upon which I will not bend, though, was AA's allegation of abusive treatment and profanity. To twist Dylan's line a bit, "That wasn't me babe." I've had a few of the garden variety of disagreements and arguments, as we all have, over the years and I always come away with very clear memory of the emotional context. Both conversations with the blond flight attendant, while bizarre, didn't raise my BP. Shoot, I thought I was getting an upgrade when the gate agent called me over to deliver the bad news.

As to the event, I'm enjoy it's existence as a story that has legs in a social setting. Several friends have suggested that I not fly AA again as I might run into the blond attendant and she would certainly make me nervous. Beyond that, airlines like AA and employees like the blonde flight attendant will reap what they sow, and short of a passengers bill of rights, will continue to do so until something happens. Whatever that may be, I hope it's good. I have no doubt the greatest percentage of AA employees are decent folks, work hard and would have done things different and better. In the end, "C'est la vie."