ACP467 From Corporate Flight Attendant to Children’s Author — Jessica Chrismer

0:00Hi everyone, Karl Valeri with the Aviation Courage Podcast. And today I have Jessica Krismer, who's traveled all 50 states and at least 30 countries during a career that's included more than a decade as a corporate flight attendant. But somewhere along the journey, aviation led her towards another career she never expected becoming an award-winning children's author. Today we're going to talk about those two careers that you don't normally hear in the same sentence and that is corporate flight attendant and children's book author. And we're going to learn about what life really is like as a flight attendant and also how she transformed that career into a children's book author. Jessica, welcome to the show. It's great to have you on. Thank you so much, Karl, and happy to be here. Yeah, this is so exciting because I love people who've tearing their passion for aviation into another passion that's really helping people and that's what you're doing.

1:02But Jessica, before we get started, I always love to hear about the person behind the book and also the person behind flying. So what got you excited about aviation? Tell us a little bit about that and how you got into flying. So I actually wasn't excited about aviation. I didn't even know it was possible for me until one of my friends, he's a pilot and he's like, hey, I think you'd do great at this. Do you want to try it out? And I said, yeah, and it's been my passion ever since. The regret I have is not learning about aviation sooner, not knowing what you can learn from it and how it can change your life. So it was really somebody that inspired you to look into it. That's pretty cool. And it happens to a lot of us. So what was like your first job in aviation as a corporate flight attendant? I guess I, after you tell us that, how did you get trained to do it?

2:03Oh, so remember, this is like 10 or 11 years ago. So training wasn't extensive as it is now. But in corporate aviation, it's a little different. Plains are smaller, the equipment, there's not as much equipment on a plane. So yeah, it was really funny. She, this tall, blonde, beautiful woman is my trainer. And she's like, okay, hop in the pool, flip over the raft, and then you're a certified. And I was like, okay. So now it's completely changed. Training is extensive. You have to know CPR. You have to know all of a lot of training. But back when I first started, it was flip over a raft and have a good time. Yeah, absolutely. That's cool though. Because there's more to it than actually just serving as coax as they say. But I think a lot of people don't understand the job of flight attendant when it comes to the corporate and private business aviation side of things.

3:04So that's a little bit different than what we're used to. So if you had to explain to somebody, what is a corporate flight attendant? How would you explain that? It's just, we serve non-commercial. So it's just private and charter. So instead of serving 200 people on a plane, I might serve at the most 10, 12 people. It's usually just a family or some executives that are going on trips. And I might do one or two flights a day versus airline. They do three, four lakes a day. So we do, we're primarily just flying that family or multiple families. So what, like what kind of planes do you fly on? Oh, I fly on G4s or Gulf Streams, Challengers, Globals. And yes, I have flown on a Lier as the flight attendant, a Lier 60.

4:07That's a ramp. Yeah. But I'm short. I'm only four Levin. So to you, these are small planes, but to me, these are huge planes. So that's something that's different, too, is when you set all these different airplanes, as a flight attendant and an airline, you do get trained on many different airplanes. But do you have to do that specific training for each plane or do you just kind of do generalized? Yeah, generalized. There are some that we need to know, like if we do the BBJs, we do have to do certain training for that because of the doors. You need specific training for the doors and also the 550s. We have to have specific training for those as well because the opening the windows, the doors are different. So interesting. We have to know how to do that. Little known fact, I actually do doors training on an Airbus. We are our own line. Actually, we actually do the doors training for our pilots. I think the flight attend should do it because they're the experts on it, but we wind up actually becoming experts also.

5:09Not as easy as you think. There's all different types of doors out there. And you have to know where to place the pin and pull the lever and all that kind of neat stuff where you can really mess it out. That's for sure. Jessica, who actually is somebody that would hire a flight attendant to work? Is it like a contract firm or individuals? So with private aviation, it's all about who you know. So a lot of word of mouth because it's such a small community in the sense of you're flying the famous and the rich. And so you can't just hire anybody. You have to be able. They have to be able to trust you. And it's also not as easy a job. I could work 24 hours because I don't really have duty time. So I'm on the mercy of whatever the clients want. And so some people, they need a schedule. They need that structure. Private aviation, we don't only have that. If we do charter, we do have a little bit of structure, but not as much as airlines.

6:16Interesting. So the limits aren't there. That's definitely something that's different. But one thing that seems really cool is you actually get to interact with people. You're not just a group. You get to really know your customer, it seems like. Is that true? Yeah. Yeah. I, the one part. So aviation has its ups and downs. We all know that. But for me, the best part of the job is the clients. Like 10% I could do without, but the majority of them is like, oh, it's new every time. And it's exciting. And you get to learn what they do. And they think my job is cool. And they're always asking me questions. And I'm like, oh my god, I'm important right now. And well, with that said, I mean, you really are. I mean, because your safety's in their hands, especially during an evacuation. But you have to really be customer service oriented. That's for sure. So with that said, is there any training involved?

7:19First of all, do you have to get a certificate? And also, what other training should you have, I guess, to become a corporate flight attendant? Is it a better way to say that? So you now have to be certified. You have to go to the training. It's not as extensive as the commercials, because the planes are a lot smaller and you're dealing with less people. But you do have to be certified. Most companies are not going to hire you if you're not certified, especially if you're doing 135. If you're doing part 91, you actually don't need to be certified. It's a whole different kinds of rules. I always recommend even if you're doing part 91 to get certified, you can go to flight safety or fax. Also, I go a little above. I get met air training. So you don't need that. You could just do the basic CPR. But for me, because I've been flying a long time, over the years, the more and more you fly, the more and more you realize that safety is actually way more important than service.

8:21And you want your training to be... I mean, I pay for my own training because I want to make sure that I'm always certified. I know it. Even with first aid and the planes, they're always being updated. You always have to learn what's going on. So I recommend every year to get retrained. So you mentioned the word met air. What is met air? There is similar to American Heart. It's just like another CPR first aid, but it's specifically on the plane. So it goes through a lot of, like, if emergencies happen on the plane, things that you have to do. Wow. So, you hear people talk about the fact that you have to know how to serve Chateau-Brayon and open a bottle of champagne and those kind of things. How do you prepare yourself for that? You got to go to school for that too.

9:21What kind of training is... I mean, is there like a catering school for airplanes? So there's like Butler schools. There is... I did training right when I was younger. It's like etiquette school. That is definitely something you should do all the time because I always forget sometimes like my... There's so much going on that. So now I'm like, I need to be learning all this stuff. Culinary school. You want to do some cooking? You want to know how to cook? That's just... It'll save you a lot of headache. So with that said, you also... Now, I always tell people this. And you want to know what paperwork to fill out internationally. Ask the flight attendants, don't ask the pilots because a lot of times we'll turn the flight attendants say, what is that for? We need to do this again. You know, I know the forms I need, but they have to understand what forms to give to the customers. How do you learn all that?

10:22And what kind of procedures do you have to know? I guess the best way to ask that. I've learned a lot of stuff from pilots. A lot of that stuff I learned from the pilots, they will teach me because that kind of training, if we get two weeks of training in the air with our trainer, and if we don't go international, I don't know. I have to read it on a manual. So I do, I relied a lot on my pilots and I'm so grateful for them because they taught me a lot. So there's a switch from the airlines to the corporate flying. So that's kind of interesting. And you know, international flying too, I'm assuming you fly with many different types of people, so different religions and cultures. Is there any challenges along that route and how do you learn all those different cultures? When I first started flying, it was a culture shock. Just imagine I've never really traveled out of the country.

11:22I've only stayed in my hometown and Americans were kind of, you know, we don't really know. We just learned from what's on TV. It's not what you learned on TV. I relied a lot on my pilots to guide me. And you do, it's you and the pilots, you know, and it's just the three of you. And you have each other's back the whole time. So I remember I went to a country where in the Middle East where I had to cover up and I was just like, what the heck? And they're like, I'm a very vocal, independent woman. I have a, so I had to learn to be submissive and just, okay, this is how it goes. Yes, yes, yes, no arguing, no nothing. Because you want to respect all the cultures, you want to expect, you know, you can also look online like, what is their language? What is there, everything like that? Just to be prepared for when you go into that country.

12:25Interesting. So now we know a little bit about the job. Could you give us like, I guess is there a typical trip you could kind of walk us through? Oh, you want a fun trip? Or do you want just one of those boring ones? Oh, but let's let's do well, how about a normal trip? I mean, because the fun trip is not always the norm, is it? No, that, well, it's, so the ones that we don't like doing are the business trips because we are, so let's say we go to New York and we're going to Phoenix. We pick up the passengers, we go all the way to Phoenix, we either get a hotel room, wait for a certain amount of hours or we go get lunch and that same day we take them back to New York. It's, yeah, so that kind of, kind of could be boring because you're just like waiting

13:25for them. The best trips are the ones when they go to like, Aspen or the islands and they spend a week there and then we get to spend a week there. That's cool. That's cool. So, so that's the difference between, I always talk about corporate aviation as private and business aviation. So that's probably more the private aviation when you go into those really cool places, isn't it? Yeah. Absolutely. That's cool. I mean, that being neat, I mean, that'd be a really neat side of things. I'd go to Aspen, that'd be a lot of fun to hang out for a while. Whereas in the airlines, you're probably there maybe 24 to 36 hours the most and you get to see it a little bit longer with some of the private trips that are out there. But also like you said, you know, we don't want to make this sound like it's all fun in games. It's in the business side, you're, you know, a business tool. So you got to get in there and get out and get the, get the work done. You mentioned reading. I'm reading. Go ahead. Now remember, we went to Ireland, a fun trip, but here's the thing. It is fun, but I'm working before that trip.

14:27I'm getting catering. I have to plan a breakfast lunch and dinner. I'm going shopping. I have to get food for the pilots. I have to make sure all the stock is on board. I have to, I have to prepare myself for that trip. And I could be working all day, getting all the catering, going to all the places that they need. And then, so I could work 20 hours before that trip. Then we do that trip. So sometimes all the work that we do prior, it's kind of worth that, oh my God, I get two, three days off. I could just relax. But then as soon as we do, I got to do it all over again. So there's like a pro and con to that kind of fun trip. Like I'm working 30 hours before I get there. And then as soon as we leave, I got to work another 30 hours. So you got to put that in consideration. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Going back to what you said about waiting, I know what it's like here.

15:28I'm in an FBO right now. Try to help me explain to people what it's like to be in an FBO for, I don't know, how many hours would you have to wait? Oh, so I've had to wait in an FBO for like 10 hours. But it's so, and that's because there were no hotels nearby. And so we had to stay. Also this client was like, I don't know when I'm going to be back. So you always want to be prepared. It's like hurry up and wait for people. And some FBOs are great. They have showers, they have gyms. You could just really go at it. And then there's some that has like maybe a lounge for the pilots. And then like a lounge for the customers. And maybe a venue machine, some have cafes, which is kind of fun. But you're literally just bring a book because you're waiting. You must get a lot of reading done on your trips.

16:30I do, actually, I read a lot. Yeah, it's interesting you said that because like in our FBO here we have showers. People always ask me that. You know, why do you have showers? It's like, well, you know, some of the pilots in flight and as they're sitting here for 10, 12 hours and they may not get a hotel room. And I know there's some flight hands and piles right now cringing. By the way, when you said that because if we wait more than five hours usually, we're complaining, we're getting a hotel room, even if it's just for a few hours. So that's kind of an interest. That's a big difference right there between the private business aviation, the airline world. But there's a lot of amenities in some of these FBOs. But like you said, there's some FBOs that have nothing. And that's tough. Well, and also airlines and there's a small airports where airlines don't even come to. So they're all in the middle of nowhere, farming. If you want to restaurant, I mean before COVID, getting an Uber was like not a thing and

17:30like a lot of towns. Like you had to ask the FBO, hey, how do I, can I get this? Can you order this? Can you do this? So I remember when we stepped to facts or paperwork. So yeah, so times of change has gotten better. Absolutely. That's the one thing I've told people it's really changed in my job is Uber as opposed to taxis and rental cars. I hardly ever rent a car anymore. I usually jump on an Uber and I can go just about anywhere almost everywhere. Like you said, there even some towns though you go to, it's kind of hard to get an Uber. I was just in one like that. It's crazy. I'm one Uber driver in the whole city. Yeah, that's where we want to go. That's how you make your money. I'm going to be, if I need a part-time job, where is there no Uber? Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, one of the big misconceptions with the flight attendant, especially with corporate flight attend says they primarily serve food and drinks. And I know we've talked about this, but it really, you know, your job is more safety-related.

18:32So how much of, how much of your job really is if you would like to make it a percentage is more safety-related? I would say 50-50. Well, I guess it depends. I'm very safety-oriented. And that's because I've been through a couple of emergencies and I now see the value in safety. So is 100% more important? I will tell a customer, no, if it's going to hinder their safety. And 99% of them are completely understandable. There are that 1%. There's like, but I'm rich and it's like, I don't care. My safety is just as important as your safety. So you want to give them the best service. It is in our DNA, but we have to say no to them if it's going to hurt them. Yeah, and that's really important. I mean, like you said, it's just 1% that are like that usually.

19:33It's not that bad. The other thing that's interesting is the fact that, and we do that the airlines, but we really want to have some discretion when we're dealing with certain people, everybody really, and the confidentiality of that flight. And I made this mistake, by the way, because I hadn't been in corporate aviation for 20 years. And I'm in the FBO and I'm talking to a buddy of mine. I said, hey, where are you guys going? And they said to an airport, you know, we're in the airlines. We're always telling people where we're going, but they don't want everybody else hearing where they're flying to because there are certain confidentiality, especially if they're going to do a deal in that city. And people know they're going there. I mean, the price of real estate could go up because they know they're in a real estate company, that kind of thing. So how much of that is something you had to get used to and how important is that to you? It's really important. It's to a point where I actually don't, when someone is asking us, like, oh, where are you going?

20:33I won't say anything. And I let the pilots do the talking because I feel really awkward. Like, why? Why do you want to know? I mean, I get kind of suspicious of people just because we've had, and then ICE, we had a guy trying to find out where the planes are going, of like, specific people. And it became an issue. And I remember I said something and I got in trouble for it. And I was like, oh, never again. So now I feel like bad because some people are just curious. So I'm like, oh, my God, where are you going? Like, this is so much fun. And I'm like, I shut down and I'm like, you can ask the pilots. I don't want to be involved. Like, I don't want to tell you anything. Just because I'm like, why do you want to know? I'm now suspicious of you. Yes. Now that makes sense. You know, that happens because you are. You want to make sure that you're protecting your client, right? Both are confidentiality and also their safety, too.

21:35You know, that's for sure. When we're talking about those customers, so customer service when you're dealing with like a high net worth individual executives and like, you know, different celebrities, how do you learn that? I mean, how does that differ from like a regular person that's out there and walking around the real world? How do you distinguish that type of service? I don't know. I think it's just over time you learn like, I know that they respect me more and they treat me better. If I just, I don't, I think they test you at first. And when they realize that you're not a gossiper, they treat you differently. And all of my clients have been amazing. Like, I love them so much and I'm so grateful. That's also how you get jobs. They know, oh, you're not, you're not going to tell people about business. We want you back. So it's like over, you start to learn how important that is.

22:37Interesting. Well, we kind of talked about the nitty gritty. Yeah, I'm sure a lot of people are going to want to know more about your livestock because that's the really cool part. I think we opened up. You said that we had like, you went to 50 states, you've been to every 50 states, 30 countries. Is that, that's because of your career, correct? And you probably wouldn't have done that otherwise. I'm assuming. Nope. So as far as those destinations, give me one that you was either like a big surprise to you or something that was like really kind of interesting, you know? So the one place that I never got to go to and I was like, man, I'm never going here. I'm never going to get here is Alaska. And because it's just not a place a lot of people go to and I got a call and they're like, hey, can you start early? We need you to go to Fargo and then Alaska. And I'm like, like Fargo and Alaska.

23:42I'm like, I'm there. And so getting to go to Alaska was probably the best part. It was just the only state I ever wanted to go to. And it was like, finally, like two years ago, I got to go. And it was like, wow, this is beautiful. I, it makes you want to visit there all the time. That's cool. So what is it? What is your favorite then destination? Oh, it was Alaska. Oh, it is. Okay. Yeah. Wow. Okay. That's interesting. Most people say the Caribbean or something like that. But that's really cool. Look, I'm a ginger. Okay. Going outside. You get it. You might like the sand and beach, but for me, uh, uh, yeah. That's me. I'm the Caribbean kind of guy. That's where I usually go. It's not quite as cold. That's for sure. You know, going back to Egypt. Go ahead. Oh, if you go, go to there, go to a Rubai. That was probably the best. Yeah.

24:43I will agree with that. I spend a lot of time in a Rubai. The coolest thing about a Rubai is everybody's on vacation and they're all really happy. It is one happy island, as they say. That is for sure. Did you go and see the flamingos? Oh, absolutely. On the island. I never heard. Yeah. That's my favorite. Oh, my gosh. You're going to find some pictures. Maybe we could put in the show notes around the screen for us. Thank you. But that is that is real. I was just looking at pictures of flamingos in a Rubai yesterday. That's so funny. You mentioned that. Um, but that I love a Rubai for another reason. It's very safe and and it's, uh, it's just friendly. There's so many cool things that they see. There's the desert. There's the other side of the island, the beaches. There's lighthouses, which I love. So yes, I can't say enough about a Rubai. This isn't a travel channel, but I will say. No, but I do recommend. Yeah, absolutely. We could just make our own travel channel if you want. Oh, almost definitely. Most I used to actually blog about all the different places I went because as a pilot at an airline, I'm sure you too, you start learning about how to go to places that

25:44don't take a long time. In other words, I just have six hours. So I'm going to go see this in six hours or 12 hours and you start getting good at that actually. Um, so I became the family tour guide because of that actually. Me too. I know a long people do not plan trips. They go to me and they're like, hey, plan this chip because we're looking for efficiency, cost effective. Like we got it all going. Absolutely. Absolutely. Going back to what you said though, you said they called you for a trip going fargo then to Alaska. So how much time do you get as far as to show up to they just call you within an hour or something? How long do you have to get there? It depends. That trip was I got 24 hour notice because they had to airline me there. If if I'm already with the plane because my rotation wasn't going to start, I still had a couple days and they were like, hey, can you start your rotation early? Well, we'll send you here. And I'm like, okay, I wasn't going to miss out on Alaska. But normally I would say, I don't like to work less and get paid more.

26:49Absolutely. For all those people in aviation, I love it because a lot of pilots, a lot of new pilots, they're always like, oh, I want to fly. I want to fly. I'm like, cool your jets, buddy. You'll get time to fly, okay? They get excited and I'm like, no, the goal is to fly less. Get paid. You'll learn. Absolutely. As you get longer into this career, I'm like that too, believe me. So you said that you go some places and there's a disruption maybe in your schedule. Do you ever have like a three day turn into a 10 day or a 7 day or anything like that? Oh, yeah. Yeah. It depends. If my rotation is more than two weeks, I'm done after two weeks. I'm not working anymore. Just because it's a lot. And now that I'm, you know, when I first started, I like to work a lot. I could work all 30 days and I was fine.

27:49But once you start having a family, you start to realize that your time is more precious than anything than money. You realize that I'll take the pick up to have more days off. So. Well, I tell you, I'm a lifestyle avid or I, you know, I'm definitely in that camp. And it is so important to spend time with your family. So with that said, as a career, as a flight and also pilots in the same way, similar lifestyle, you know, what are some of the like biggest sacrifices that you've had to give up in this career? I don't feel like I made any sacrifices. I think that this career showed me different things that I can do. And I say that because everything that I've done has led me to where I'm at today. So I think that I don't think I had any missing sacrifices.

28:52Maybe not enough time with me, so. Right. We're going to get to me. So in and Kilo or Kylo, wait. Kili. Kili. I said Kilo because I have another, there's another dog. I know this name Kilo. That's why I said that. But, you know, the other thing is, and I get this, this, this, asked all the time, is I'm afraid to become a pilot or flight attendant because it's going to be hard for me to maintain a relationship or to have time with my kids and my family. What would you tell somebody that asks you that question? How difficult is it on your family life? I think it is for some people, it is hard. I have dated a lot and they couldn't understand my lifestyle. So if you meet someone that can understand your lifestyle, they're keepers. You want to keep them. And if they can't understand your lifestyle, then you have to make a decision.

29:53Like, is this person more important than your career? And if that's a, that's a choice you have to make. I can't personally tell you what I would do. I could just tell you that sometimes just, just, way to pros and cons. Also you can manage your own time. So a lot of times people say, oh, I don't have time. I don't have time. Okay. Why don't you reevaluate the time and see how you can fit in? Because I know a lot of pilots that make it work for their wife and kids and they're happy. And then I know a lot of pilots that can't make it work because they don't want to make it work. So that there's a, I can't give advice because I don't know, but I can tell you that sometimes people just make excuses because they just don't want to deal with it. Yeah, absolutely. It also can be a different lifestyle that you don't want to have because there's many different lifestyles and aviation, even private and business aviation. There's many different types of lifestyles. So I think also part of that might be researching the job and say, yeah, this is what I want

30:56to do. This is a good lifestyle for me or maybe I should do a different type of job in an aviation or not do aviation at all. The FAA, I know one friend, he, he did flying and his wife had a baby and he was like, I don't want to be away from my baby. And he's like, but I don't want to stop aviation. And he found the FAA and he loves working there. So that's, that's just an example. Yeah, absolutely. Look, I'm not an expert. Yeah, no. And Billy, me, I do career coaching. By the way, aviation careers podcast.com slice coaching, these are the things we go over. On a one on one basis and we do a lot of mentorship and been doing this for 25 years and I love to get the whole family and the conversation because I love a lot of things come out in those conversations and you start finding out what the priorities are of all the people in the family and a lot of times you can work it out and sometimes it's the wrong job. It's the right career, the wrong job. So you have to find the right job and that's really cool.

31:58That's so cool. Yeah, it's so exciting. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, it's, it's my favorite thing I get to do. That's for sure. I think I'm going to forward your information to some of my pilot friends. I think they need that. I appreciate that. Before we go on the get off the career because I really want to talk about your books is from a perspective of your health, your sleep, your, you know, all these other things. Are there any other challenges that you say you have as a as a flight attendant as opposed to being like a 95 type of person? In the beginning, that was really hard. Trying to manage my team with sleep working out took me a few years to really consciously make a choice like, Hey, I'm going to eat healthier. I'm going to work out every day. I've got to make time. So it's something that you're either going to do or you're not going to do. It was really hard. I noticed I gained a lot of weight when I first started. I wasn't sleeping well.

32:58I think I developed chronic fatigue. And because I was so excited, it was so in the beginning, it was so exciting. But then once you do it, it becomes routine and you're like, OK, am I going to go out drinking or am I going to the gym? I got to make choices. And so it was a balance. And also one of my pilot friends said, Hey, you know, you gained a little weight. Thanks. Going to the gym. Thank you very much. And that's, that's incredible though. I mean, I had the same instance happen when I joined the airlines. I gained 60 pounds. And I am back. I took those 60 pounds off. So and that was a big challenge. And that was over a 25 year period. So it can be done. It's, you know, what you said was so key. It's about choices that you make. Do you go to the gym or do you go have a beer? What do you eat? You can eat well on the road these days. It's not as hard as it used to be. That's for sure.

33:59So, oh, and before we get into the books, another thing we have to ask is, for those people thinking about getting into this job as someone said, Hey, Jessica, I want your job. What would you tell them? Ah, please. At least do it for a couple of years. Just experiencing it will change your life. Your whole mindset will change. You will start thinking. Everything is, you start thinking of things differently. The world's everything. You start to really put things in perspective. Yeah. So, if someone was to try to get into that, is it like, is there like a vault in board you use or, you know, is it mainly about networking to get into that job? It is about networking, but go to your, so if you just go online like Vista America, they like to hire people that don't have experience because they'll do all the training worldwide jet. They hire with no experience. There are charter companies out there. If you just look up private aviation charter companies, there are charters out there that

35:02will hire with no experience. But you have to want to do it. This isn't just a vacation. If you think of it as a vacation, this is not a job for you. You're going to be very disappointed. Although people think we're on vacation because all these places we talked about, it is work. You're mainly working. It's not just hanging out in the hotels all the time. Anyway, don't tell my wife I hang out on the beach all the time. I'm always flying. It's really tough. But it is. There are so many systems down. Yeah. It's because those moments we need to capture. But let me tell you, loved ones, every time we're on a beach or we're somewhere, the first thing we always say to each other is, man, I wish my husband was here. I wish my wife was here. This is somewhere I would take them. So know that you're the first thing we think about when we are somewhere. You know, when you said that, one of the things that came to my mind is, you know, the iPhone, I have this thing I do FaceTime.

36:03I actually turn on FaceTime all the time and I bring it with me and I bring my wife along for trips around, whatever place I'm visiting. You know, please like, can photograph. And it's kind of cool because there's no way that they'll be able to come to Cali or Benagine and then to a room of the next day. And it's true. You're right about that. It's like, yeah, I'm here. I wish there was someone I could share this with. And that's what's cool about having a good crew is being able to share those things. That's for sure. Jessica, one thing I want to pivot to is the fact that you've taken this lifestyle and you've done something with it. You became an author and you became a children's author, but you tied in both aviation and also your children's books in a very unique way. So tell us a little bit about the fact and how becoming a corporate flight and inspired to become a children's book author. So I love kids. I don't have any kids and that's probably why I love them so much.

37:08And on private jets, we're also nannies. So there will be kids on board and sometimes when we're going overseas, there's no internet. So I had to figure out ways to entertain them. What I noticed was, oh, also trying to get them to like aviation at the same time. And I noticed that a lot of kids weren't into the cockpit anymore. They were just like, yeah, whatever. It's like, okay, I need to find ways to get them entertained. And I would go to stores. I would go on Amazon and try to look for aviation themes. Like, hey, how can I get these kids involved? And I was like, you know what? I'll just make my own. And so I would, I made my own stories and I was bringing them with me. If I knew kids were going to be on the plane, so I can entertain them. And people were like, oh my god, these are so good. You should publish these. And I was like, oh, it's not. I wasn't. Okay.

38:08And so it kind of like, it wasn't really something I was trying to do for to be an author or anything like that. It was just something I wanted to do to get kids to like aviation, to get kids entertained on those flights with no internet. And something like that's what happened. Wow. So, wow. And that's how things happen. I mean, you took this and this need and you turned it to a product, which is the books that you have. So, so now that you, these stories that you told are based on something. And it's based on something in your life. So, so what are the kind of characters in those stories? Oh, so me, so and Keely are my cats. So me, so is a rag doll. He loves everybody. He heard his name. He's like, what? What's going on? He loves everybody. He, no loyalty to this cat. If you come over, he is, please pet me. Please love me. Whereas Keely is a little shy.

39:09He'll hide. But if you give him treats, he'll love you forever. So both characters, I put their personalities into my books. And then like the islands, I did experience, I went to an island and one of my pilots spoke the wrong language. And it was embarrassing. So I kind of put that into the island. Alaska was, it's one of my favorite places. I noticed everybody working together. And I was like, wow, that's so cool. They're helping strangers. Like this is so weird. Yes, if you're from LA and New York, strangers helping you is weird. That's, wait, go ahead. That was going to be so cool that he did that. I mean, it's, and those kind of different cultural events kind of mixed into these books, didn't it? Yeah. And like the snorkeling desert is about the desert because I love Arizona. And then the air race is about planes because I love planes.

40:12I love air races. I love, you know, it's about teamwork or can you gather the, that story was actually inspired by a pilot that I flew with. She was the 14th female pilot to be hired by United. And she told me about an air race. And so I was like, oh, I love this. I want to put it in my story. Wow, wow. And that's the air race classic. They call it now. You used to be called a power puff derby and really interesting. And it's the, your series though is I think it's called the whisker city race. Is that right? Whisker city air race. Whisker city air race. That's it. It's, these are also really cool. By the way, and some of these cool things like you talked about the islands, like New Island Friends is one of the adventures. You talked about the snorkeling desert. There's also some other things that you've done, which are actually outside this world too. What inspired you to do that? Something in the galaxy or something like that? Who doesn't want to go to space? Like space is amazing.

41:14I love space. My fiance loves space. And it was basically he told me I had to do space. The artist is a physics major and the artist loved space too. So when I said, hey, what's to space? They were all about it was, it was like the, the best thing that ever, both of those guys were all like, I think I got pushed out a little bit. So when you can write the story, we'll do everything else. And I'm like, ah, I have a great adventure for you. Me so in Keely, me, Jeremy in Kilo. As many people know, a lot of my shows and stuck my gav cast are about Jeremy in Kilo. And visiting Kilo is a Shiba Inu and just a neat little character and flies around with Jeremy. So that would kind of be cool to put those adventures together. So I just came up with a book. Hey, I am working on my chapter book for eight to twelve year olds.

42:18So you text me those names. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. I would love to bother because just so you know, in all my books, every character is either someone I know, a pet that I know, like someone that's important I love. And I want to show them like, thank you for your support. Like thank you for your love. I'm going to put you in these books now. That's awesome. So yeah, so actually if just a plug for our other podcast, stuck my gav cast, go check out the Jeremy in Kilo podcast and also porches and planes. Actually, Kilo was there. So I would be kind of neat to see the two meet together, maybe in one of your stories. So go check that out there and stuck my gav cast. But as far as I want to go back to that whole air race thing, I think that's really cool. Because you know, as far as from a children's perspective, you know, what can children learn in this book through this air race, whisker city air race?

43:18So this one is about cheaters never prosper. And when you win, your friends win. So when you're friends when you win. So if so for example, my friend didn't win, but she was really happy that her friends won. There's no jealousy. And they it was just like, Hey, and let's like, like be happy for people that are doing wildlife. Let's let's not get mad or jealous. So that's pretty cool. I like that. You know, I've always told people I had one of my favorite things that I do in life is fill out the people's buckets and when their buckets overfile, so does mine. And that's a really important lesson. So I love that you're doing that. But that I can't wait to get some of these stories. This is just too cool. We should try to write something together, I think. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not good at stories though. I love creating this is probably the best. I didn't realize how much I loved it until I mean, I've always written.

44:21I've always done like plays like I've always pretended. I love pretending. So when I actually got to do this, it was like, wow, this is so much fun. Now, like, why didn't I start it earlier? But it's because I had to be a flood tenant first. Yeah, absolutely. You know, going to space travel, how'd you come up with that? Was it triangle and galaxy, triangle and galaxy, right? Yeah, I just searched on the internet was like, what's a rare galaxy that is real? We don't know a lot about and it was that came up. And so because we could do like the Milky Way, but I wanted to do it because I was adding dragons to it, I wanted it to be where I could make the planet, whatever I wanted. Like I didn't have to, because in in Ganymede, I teach you about the moons. I know there are moon dogs on board. Like I just kind of teach you a little bit about the planets.

45:21And I just kind of wanted the triangle galaxy to be kind of like completely fiction. Like I can make up whatever I want. That's cool. That is cool. Oh, by the way, we haven't mentioned this yet, but misokeely.com, misokeely.com is where you find out all these adventures. And she has Instagram and Facebook. It's all there. I think it's really cool though that you talk about education and everything. Morals aviation, getting people in aviation. It's entertaining. I mean, this is really neat. And it really teaches people to, if you can dream it, you can do it. You definitely cannot get out there and grow as an individual. And that's kind of one of the things I'm excited about. And interestingly, you also have this whole series on Arizona adventures, which is by the way where I'm going on vacation in the next couple months. So maybe I should read that series.

46:23What's that series about, by the way? So Arizona, I have such love for Arizona. It's so beautiful. So we have the Grand Canyon. We have, Tucson has class okayves. So I recommend if you, are you bringing your wife? Yes, absolutely. Okay, so I recommend you guys doing that. It's in Vale. It's beautiful. And then we have Sedona. So I know you're going to Scottsdale, but remember everything's about three or four hour drive. So if you go to Sedona, the red rocks are beautiful. The crit, there's a lot of stuff about, so each one of these are, I try to put the fun facts about the history of each place. So that, this one's more educational, that series versus the Meso-Killy ones more about like, it has some education, but it's more about like morals and lessons and like having fun.

47:23You're still having fun in the Arizona ones. It's just I'm more, I really want people to visit these places. That's cool. And we're going to do tombstone and some other places. And then, and then I'm going to go to start with other states that I've been to. And yeah, it's just going to, it's going to grow. Yeah, that, that is so awesome. And I would be okay for, for an old guy like me to read those books. Yeah, yeah, you read them to your cats. What, what can I do with, I read them to Meso. That's a great idea. I'll read to my, my friends, children and grandchildren. I think that would be awesome. They're perfect gifts for, for little ones. Yeah, that, you know, this, I had it. Go ahead. No, no, no, you first. I was going to say this whole adventure has, you know, you're not just an author. I mean, you really, someone who teaches, I mean, you're an educator and you really become this entrepreneur having you, you've really shifted. Because it's, you're, you're doing a product and a product that's additive and also it's

48:24permeating into many different avenues. Because it's not just books, you're doing, I think, coloring books and things like that. Is that correct? Yeah. So what I'm doing to board game. Oh, that's right. That's right. The board game. So the board game is I, I'm working on the Kickstarter right now. So if anyone wants to back me, it's, I will just follow me on Instagram and once I, we're still waiting on the art. The great thing is, is, Ilya is very excited about this project. So he is willing to help me with the art until we get the Kickstarter back. And then, but it's the Wiskers City Air Race Board game. So you get to read the story and then play the game. Cool. Cool. I, you know, I got to get that. I mean, I, I have all sorts of children's books to actually in here on my shelves. If you ever come into our FBO, come visit us. We have a lot of different children's books on the walls. It's very interesting how many aviators and people in aviation have gotten into writing

49:26books and especially children's books, which I think is really exciting. I love all that you have and all the illustrations. I think that's absolutely terrific. But I'm sure you've been to a lot of shows and there's been a lot of children that have come up to you. You know, what, what's like your favorite reaction that you've got from a child? These are your cats. Oh my god. Like, they get so excited. And then this part they love. They get, let me sokely signatures. So they're like, these are their real small prints. And then like, they get so excited. And then they go, wait, you wrote these? You did this? What cats? I did. They like, it's, it's great. I love it. And then I, what I love the most is the older kids love it. And they tell me all the time. They're like, yeah, you did that. And I'm like, oh, because you know, if the older kids don't like it, it's, it's not going to do well because the older kids are the ones that kind of, they give this stamp of approval.

50:27And then they little ones are like, oh, my older brother likes it. So I like it. Yeah. Absolutely. Has there anything that you've seen or a child maybe taught you anything about, about your own books? Yeah. So everybody has advice, right? Everybody thinks they can write a children's books. Everybody wants to tell you, right? I'll tell you what, a three year old gives you the best advice. I, and one of my books, I, I didn't put the names of the characters on this part right here. And she told me she's like, why don't they have their names? And I'm like, oh, I didn't even think about that. And she's like, I'd like to know their names. You should put their names on there. And I'm like, I think you're right. I just don't have $2,000 to reprint these books. But I, I was like, wow, I think I, I'm going to have her edit my books before I even start publishing from that one because I didn't even catch that.

51:28And I was like, because on the stickers, their names are on the stickers. And so I was, she caught that. And I was like, oh, my God, best advice. Like, yeah, out of the mouth of babes comes them incredible advice. That's so cool. That is so cool. So, you know, it really is really cool what you've done here with this. But why, you know, I think this really matters what you're doing because I think it's really truly inspiring the next generation. What did you realize that that's what's going to happen when you started this journey? Now, I grew up really poor. I never, ever thought I would get to see the world the way I did. And as I was writing there, or as I was publishing these, I saw how kids were like, oh, I'm going to go there. I'm going to do that. And I'm like, oh, my God. I realize that these kids are going to, they're going to be more curious than I was.

52:34Like, how do you get to these places? You've got to travel. You've got to, so I'm hoping these stories inspire them to at least get travel, but to get into aviation and know that if it wasn't for aviation, I would not get to see what I saw. I wouldn't get to learn. Like, that's all I'm hoping. And I wish I wish I knew about aviation. I knew about aviation we all did, but I didn't understand how it could change your life. Like, your best friends are the people in aviation. Like, as soon as most of my friends are in aviation, you bond. When you go places, you're exploring, you're learning, you're going places. And then you're always thinking about, oh, what kind of gift I can get someone. So I did not know until I started slowly seeing the curiosity in kids.

53:39And it made me, I was like, wow, I didn't under, I did not, this was not, yeah, I'm sorry. It's just like, it's been so overwhelming and I'm so grateful. And I hope these make an impact in kids. And I hope years from now, kids like, I became a pilot because I love these so and Keely. And anyway, yeah, sorry, I'm on the lane. I'm sorry. That is awesome. I mean, that you really are inspiring the next generation of pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, air traffic controllers, whatever it may be. You know, you truly are saying you can do it. And I think that's what's really cool. If some child came up to you and say, hey, I wonder if I can do that someday. I mean, what do you tell them? Oh, you can. And it's fun. And you just have to go to school, learn. And what I love is some kids don't want to be a pilot. They're like, oh, I want to be an engineer. I want to build planes.

54:40Oh, we need you too. Like, we need them all. And one kid is like, how do I put the fuel in the? And the plane. And I was like, I don't know. But I know it's a hard job. But I think you could do it. And he's like, I can. So it was, yeah, so anyways. If you were looking back at your career and you knew what success was defined back then, how would you define it, say now what success means to you today? I think success now means like you accept who you are. And you don't care what other people think. You're doing what you love. And if you're doing something you don't love, maybe you shouldn't do it. So yeah, I learned over the years that you always thrive. You're always trying to like, and then I accepted like, I'm just going to do what I love. And to me, that's successful.

55:43That's so true for everybody. I think that's a great lesson to learn. And we can't get in there. But I want to know what's next for Jessica? What's next? More books, more flying? I hope so. I love writing. I love doing that. It's so much fun building a world and getting to build it and like, show it off. I'm definitely, I didn't realize how I used to think you had to be rich to create things. And now I realize that you just have to have the passion. You just have to have the will to do it. And so yeah, so I hope, I hope lots more stories come. Well, you are rich in passion, that's for sure. And so we are rich in many different ways.

56:44Well, Jessica, thanks so much for joining us. We could sit here and talk for hours, by the way. But I know I like talking you. I sometimes just like, this is cool. Yeah, I just ramble and I'm like, I don't even know what I'm saying. Well, this is great that I've been able to get this out of you. And I think just sharing your stories has been wonderful. And it's kind of neat hearing the same kind of adventures and stories that we've had and that we connect with and we connect with other people in aviation. It's not just you and I, it's all the other people in aviation. And what's really cool is that this world of aviation truly does take you to many different places. And it's really a neat thing. And it makes you grow and makes you learn and it enables you to give back. And I really appreciate that about what you've done with Miso and Keely. Miso and Keely.com. Don't forget to go check that out. And Jessica, thanks again for being here. Oh, and don't forget I for I have a coupon code at if you want to buy books, pilot 25,

57:50get 25% off. Pilot 25 Miso Miso Keely.com. Miso Keely. Oh, I haven't shown it. By the way, pilot 25 get 25% off. That's awesome. I really appreciate you doing that. And also if you have questions, feedback at aviationcursepodcast.com, we will send them over to Jessica and maybe even have her back on. You can drop it down the show notes at the bottom and also in the comments below. But one of the things I think is really important if you're thinking about becoming a corporate flight attendant is that you make sure that you do something every single day to do your research and move forward in your career. Whether it's a flight attendant pilot and a mechanic, make sure you take a step every day to move forward in your career and in your life because you never know where it might take you. And maybe come an author someday, maybe come a flight attendant or an engineer. But do something today to move forward in your career and in your life. We'll talk to you next episode. Stay flying out there.