ABOVE AND BELOW THE CLOUDS E-Book

Harry W Frahm

• Herausgeber: Frankfurter Literaturverlag
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: August von Goethe Literaturverlag
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Seitenzahl: 312

Beschreibung

Harry Frahm, born in Germany, took a lifetime-opportunity to work and travel „above and below the clouds“ - it was the early 1950s, and going to America to work as a flight attendant for the biggest airline in the world, Pan Am, first was considered only to be a „girl‘s job“. But he already knew, he once would have unnumbered funny and exciting stories to tell. After 33 years of working for Pan Am in the skies and visiting the most exotic places in the world, he reviews his impressions and experiences he had the chance to make - and tells us one charming and funny story after another.Let him take you on a journey to times when aviation was young and layover trips always an adventure! Of course, names are changed - but he swears, each and every world is true.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Foreword

The author

Chapter 1 The Beginning

Chapter 2 Training

Chapter 3 Stratocruiser

Chapter 4 Working Conditions

Chapter 5 Refueling

Chapter 6 Africa

Chapter 7 Accra, Ghana

Chapter 8 On The Road

Chapter 9 Kruger Park

Chapter 10 Hippopotamus Pool

Chapter 11 Philosophy

Chapter 12 Wildebeests

Chapter 13 Gasoline

Chapter 14 Boarding

Chapter 15 Smoking

Chapter 16 Anxiety

Chapter 17 Children

Chapter 18 Unhappiness

Chapter 19 Hours of Darkness

Chapter 20 Photography

Chapter 21 Breakfast

Chapter 22 Christmas Eve

Chapter 23 Rio de Janeiro

Chapter 24 IGS (Intra German Service)

Chapter 25 Jet Age Shopping

Chapter 26 Harold’s Last Flight

THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT

Harry W. Frahm

Above and below the clouds

Observations

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ISBN 978-3-8372-5022-0

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Pan American World Airways

Harry W. Frahm

Hamburg Reservation 1955

Graduation, Pan Am

Long Island City, New York 1957

Pan American World Airways

Boing 707-120

Harry W. Frahm

Purser 1959

Dedicated

To

My wife Liz,

My daughter Doris,

And flight attendants of the world

Foreword

This book was written to entertain and inform of real-life stories some time ago, when aviation was young. These are non-fiction tales with all names of persons slightly changed, to avoid possible legal complications. However, the names of the pursers are made up and are in reality portraying Harry Frahm, even the Puerto Rican Manuel Rodriguez.

The author

Harry Frahm, formerly Horst Frahm, was born in Berlin, Germany, to a police officer and his wife. After the war, Berlin was divided into four sectors, British, French, American and Russian. His home belonged to the Russian part. He worked as a professional mechanic on projects the Soviet Union administration was interested in. He was offered a position to move to Russia. Not enthusiastic about it, he decided to go westward. Having relatives in Hamburg made the choice easy. This was at a time before the wall, and travel from east to west was not too difficult, which thousands of people made use of. The problem was to obtain a working permit to be able to stay in the city. At the Arbeitsamt (Office for Labor affairs,) being a mechanic, the permit was denied. He inquired which occupation will get this document and was advised:

“You have to be a motor mechanic and master the English language in order to get a job at the British Forces.” So he left and went to a different line of applicants. When asked for his occupation, he claimed to be a motor mechanic with excellent knowledge of the English language. Of which, the second part, was not a lie. He received the precious permit and was given the address where to report the following day. Luckily no one asked him for his driver’s license, which he did not have, neither did he know how to drive, which would have been very incomprehensible for a motor mechanic. He got the job regardless! To his luck, two men were assigned to work together as a team. He confessed to his coworker the predicament he was in and was assured not to worry. Two hours lunchtime each day, with a hot meal, courtesy of the British Crown, (which was a blessing in itself,) took care of all problems. His teammate showed him how to drive and Harry was left alone with an Army jeep, a perfect vehicle, able to take a lot of abuse from a beginner. Later a jerry-can of gasoline, (better than gold) as payment, produced his driver license. A few months later he became a driver for the same unit at the Royal Navy which was taken over later by the Royal Engineers. Another change took place when he was a driver for British Forces Network. After work he attended an evening school to become an engineer. Some years later, being again with Royal Engineers, he received an offer to get employment with Pan American World Airways, Inc.

The way it was called in those days. Two years thereafter he immigrated to the USA, sponsored by the airline, to become a flight attendant. Until 1988 he flew as purser and took his retirement after 33 years of spanning the globe. Ten years out of New York and the rest out of Miami, where he still resides today.

Edited by:

Stasia Todd

Chapter 1 The Beginning

It was a gray frosty winter day, dirty snow piled up on the sides of the streets. The roads were slippery with icy patches here and there; it was a typical winter morning in this otherwise attractive town of Hamburg, on the Elbe River, all frozen now.

Herbert Frank was sitting behind the steering wheel of this Opel Kapitän, which belonged to the British Royal Engineers. He was waiting for his Colonel, who was having an early luncheon engagement in the Streits-Hotel on the Jungfernstieg. He had the motor running to operate the heater of the car. Nice and cozy, reading a book.

The year is 1955 and only a few days ago the church bells were chiming for the New Year.

Suddenly, Herbert was interrupted in his reading.

Somebody had knocked at his side window. He thought it was his boss, but a friendly smiling, familiar face of a pretty woman looked at him.

“I know her, surely,” he thought.

It was the former secretary of the British Forces Network.