Read Your Memo

Saturday got off to a slow start, with not many Floridians braving the cool 15 mph winds until later in the morning.  In the monsoon of the previous day most of the gear had been tossed in the back of Jim Skelly's truck which had a cover. Not having to go up and down the stairs made set up a whole lot quicker and easier.  By mid-day we had a crew of 17 including the two singers and folks were lined up past the wing tip. Peggy's son, Will, who is a student pilot, was there for his first ever air show. Scott and Gladys also arrived. We were divided into two teams, each spelling the other and this worked well, giving everyone time off for meals and rest. Tony admonished anyone asking questions about schedules to "Read Your Memo."
 The Flagship was the hit of the show. We had lines all day past the wing tip, took in a very nice sum in donations and were inundated with requests for photos as we had two Captains and four Stewardesses in uniform. The people were genuinely interested in learning about it and appreciated its history.  Our singers, Judy DeSantis and Dick Grady, performed for much of the day and kept the crowd entertained while they waited. A sailor man showed up in white uniform and danced with Peggy in her stewardess garb for quite a while. This really looked like a vignette from WWII and entertained the crowd, as well as the rest of us.
We were served a nice lunch in the VIP tent. There was to be a "Chairman's Dinner" in the evening  just for performers in the show but Dennis attended a
briefing and wrangled tickets to the event for us. We went in two shifts and had an excellent dinner. It was also nice that being in the tent to get out of the relentless wind for a bit.
Will Fairchild never really knew much about what his mother,Peggy, did in her vintage stewardess outfit, but it must be something really nerdy. When he saw the Flagship, met the members of the team, and witnessed his mother in action, the light dawned and he saw her in a whole new light. Suddenly she was not just his mother, but a very interesting person. He beamed with pride as she danced with the sailor and proudly pointed her out to our patrons. The transition was visible and so fun to watch. Later in the evening Gene asked him if he knew what a cool person his mother was and he replied, "I think I found out today."
This was a really long day with half

of our people there for 14 hours. Early in the evening, as it got even cooler, we sent one van load of folks back to the hotel. We thought the wind would die at sundown, and it did, temporarily for an hour of so, then came right back. Nevertheless, a good show, a fun time.