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Massapequan authors book on the highs and lows of her career as a flight attendant
"Right then and there, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up," Keiser wrote in her book Above the Glamour, an account of her years as a stewardess. "It was the pretty lady in the pretty uniform." Keiser, who has 34 years of flying experience, discusses the ups and downs of being a stewardess, or flight attendant, as they are known today. Keiser was hijacked and watched as a fellow coworker fell from a plane to his death. She has endured the difficulties of long flight delays, frustrated passengers and experienced the terrorist attacks September 11th—up close and personal. Keiser attended Nassau Community College where she earned an associate degree in liberal arts, but her career at American Airlines began in the personnel department at Sky Chefs in the New York catering division. Even though she enjoyed working there, she realized that the nine-to-five lifestyle was not for her and continued to fulfill her dream of becoming a stewardess. When American Airlines presented her with the opportunity to become a flight attendant, she was more than willing to transfer into flight school. But, before she could start her dream job, a letter came saying that the class had been canceled, and the airline was cutting back. Keiser had already given her job at Sky Chefs notice and after a string of misses, she finally was accepted in the flight class in Dallas for American Airlines. Keiser grew up in Baldwin and married Doug Keiser in May 1974. The couple have two daughters, and have lived in Massapequa for 32 years. While the job was the fulfillment of a childhood dream, Keiser recalls the difficulties of juggling marriage and raising a family with a job that takes you so far away from home. "I have great parents, and my mom stayed with the baby," she said. "There is nothing like having your family taking care of your children. It gave my children a great relationship with their grandparents." When Keiser first started her career, there were no cell phones or beepers, and no way of contacting family while in flight. "When I left the house, I was totally at work," she said.As technology advanced, it did get easier to contact her family, but when the attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan occurred Keiser had to set aside her own feelings and assume her role as a professional. On that fateful day, she drove to JFK Airport for a 9:30 a.m. flight to London. Word of the attacks quickly spread but by that time the passengers had boarded the plane and it was on the runway. Still confronted with the emotions of the loss of her coworker nine months before, and unable to reach her husband who worked in Manhattan, she felt panic beginning to settle in. Despite that, she said, she recognized that she was responsible for the safety of the passengers on that plane, and went into action, trying to keep them as calm and comfortable as possible until the crisis subsided. Some of her experiences—such as when a gun was held to her head in a hijacking incident in 1984—have changed her outlook dramatically. "This made me less trustful of people and more cautious everywhere in my life," she said. But her experiences have also made her a more understanding and broad-minded person, she said. "I am more compassionate with people with disabilities and those from different cultures," she continued. "The job gave me an education about other people all over the world—from refugees to royalty." In spite, or perhaps because of it all, Keiser is still flying after all these years.and enjoying the career she set out to make her own as a young child. "I still have fun and I haven't given it up yet," she said.
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