concernand courage—arepowerwords for not
only thepeoplewith cancer but also for the family
members, likeyou, who rallyaround them. Bighugs
tobothyouandyour fighter of amom.
AGhostlyGoodTime
AbbyKinsinger, you’remyhero!Fora lady
whoscareseasily, youareonebrave (liv-
ing) soul forstaying in“thehauntedroom”
at theBourbonOrleans. I travelquiteabit
forwork, andN’awlinsremainsoneofmy
favorite“haunts” tovisit. I lovedreading
yourarticle in theOctober issue, “Big,Easy
andHaunted,”asyouhighlightedmanyof
thehiddengems in thecity that largelydo
not involveBourbonStreet.Thecity isrich
withhistoryandghost stories, stemming
from itseccentric inhabitantsover the
years.Youwillmeet themostdiversegroup
ofpeoplehavinganabsintheatPirates
Alley. In fact, ifyoudrinkenoughof it,
you’llhallucinateaghostor two!Thanks
forbeingbraveandbringingusaglimpse
into thedarksideofwhat is,handsdown,
themost resilientand interestingcity in
theU.S.
CindyL.Brewer
St.Louis
A.K.Responds:
Cindy, you are
my
hero!Many
thanks for your letter. I couldn’t agreemore:New
Orleans, so vibrantly teemingwithboth life and
death, is ahard city to top. I can already feel the
spirits summoningmeback.
Rulesof theRoad
Ipickedup theOctober issueof
American
Way
asIwascompleting the last two legsof
myrecentaround-the-world, seven-week
vacationandsaw theannouncement for
the14thAnnualRoadWarriorcontest.
IgotexcitedbecauseIknowIama true
RoadWarrior. Ihope that thiscontest is
not just forbusiness travelerswhohave
to travelaspartof their jobbutalso for
thosewho travel just for fun. Ireallydo
enjoyAmericanAirlines,but Ibelieve that
a trueRoadWarrior issomeonewhouses
alldifferent formsof transportation.Most
ofall, Ibelieve it issomeonewho travels
because theywant to. Ididsubmitanentry
andhope the judgeswillbe lookingout for
real
RoadWarriors.
AnushDawidjan
Springfield,Massachusetts;andMiami
ContentManagerAnneBianchiWeidner
Responds:
Well,Anush, a seven-week, around-the-
worldvacation sounds likeanamazingway toearn
yourRoadWarriorwings.Andwedon’t limit the
contest toonlybusiness travelers, soyou’re in luck.
Aboveall, weare searching for true-blueAmerican
AirlinesRoadWarriors.Thankyou for entering.
TravelingTogether
Iwasmovedwhilereadingabout the
Americaneventdesigned tohelpkidswith
autism inyourOctober issue. Itbroughtme
back to1985,whenmyhusbandand three
sonswere traveling toOhio fora family
funeral.Ouroldestson,Todd,who isau-
tistic,boardedanAmericanAirlinesflight
withus, andweweresonervousabouthow
itwouldgo.Thefightattendantwasawe-
someandhelpedrelieveouranxietyabout
the trip.Todddidfine.Thankyou,Amer-
icanAirlines, forshowing thatyoucare
for thesespecialpeople.Asamotherofan
autisticson, itmeanssomuch tome toread
Dev’swordsand toknow thatgenerations
tocomearesensitiveandunderstanding.
RosemariePladna
Raleigh,NorthCarolina
ManagingEditorTravisKinseyResponds:
Thanks for thenote, Rosemarie. The articlemade
us smile aswell, andDev’s initiative andbravery
prove that he is a true rolemodel.
Drink in theMoments
Irecentlywitnessed thescenariodescribed
byAdamPitluk inhisAugust“Editor’s
note,”“WickedWisdom,”duringmy
30-yearreunionatHickmanHighSchool
inColumbia,Missouri.Gatheringata
favoritepizza joint fromouryouthwith
old friends, teammatesandevenanold
flame, Iwas transfixedby thesparkle in
theireyesand theknowing,welcoming
smiles thatsurroundedme.Wespoke in
familiarvernacular, jokedand jestedas if
itwerestill 1985andevensheda few tears
from theupwellingofemotions.Acommon
sentiment throughout theweekendwas
howgoodeveryone looked.Mr.Pitluk
surmisedcorrectlywhenstating that
triedand true friends from thepastage
likewine.Somehairlineshavereceded,
waistlineshaveexpandedand lineshave
spreadacrossour faces,but the twinkle in
theeyesstill shines likediamonds.Ayoung
Napacabernetmaybevibrant, friskyand
somewhatdisjointeduponrelease,butgive
it time toage, andmanyof the tanninsdrop
out, therichcoffee, cherryandchocolate
notescome forward, and the trulygreat
winesgrowdeep, richand luscious. So it is
withgreat friends.
JoeBechtold
Columbia,Missouri
A.P.Responds:
Thepeoplewho you remember
with fondness never fail todeliver, evenwhen it’s
beendecades since you last crossedpathswith
them. I’mglad to know your experiencebore this
out.And as a formerColumbia resident, all I have
to say is, goKewpies!
AIRMAIL
traveling is immersing yourself in the culture of a
place andbeingopen to new experiences along
theway. I hope that we continue toprovide you
with a plethora of bucket-list-worthy items and
that you continue to embrace your travels with
open arms.
FlyingwithPride
Onarecent trip fromAtlanta toOrlando,
Florida, Ipickedup theSeptembercopy
of
AmericanWay
andcameacross the
article“KeepingHistoryAlive”byGeorge
Lostetter.AsapastemployeeofGrum-
manAerospace, I’vealways lovedplanes,
especiallyfighter jets,butIwasn’taware
ofAmericanAirlines’ services toourU.S.
forcesbydeliveringmail toremoteplaces.
Iwas impressedbyhow thissystemwas
adapted toretrieveWacoCG-4Agliders
used todeliverparatroopers to the front
lines.Very ingenious!Thesegliderswere
usedagain forothermissions, and injured
soldierswereairlifted togetmedical
helpwhenneeded. I’vealways thoughtof
commercialairlinesasamoney-generating
machine,butIhaveanewfoundrespect for
AmericanAirlinesand theirdedication to
ourcountry.
JanetSierzant
VeroBeach,Florida
GeorgeLostetterResponds:
Thank you very
much, Janet, for your kindwords. The airlinewas
eager todevelop andexpand thepick-up systems
to accommodate theneeds of themilitaryduring
WordWar II.
GoingUpGrateful
Ipickedupacopyof
AmericanWay
onmy
wayback frommynephew’sFloridawed-
dingwithmy80-year-oldmombymyside.
Ihadbroughtagreatbook for the trip,but
whenIsaw themagazinepeekingoutof the
seat, I thoughtIwould takea look. “Pink
foraPurpose”bySarahBly, aPHL-based
flightattendantwhowasdiagnosedwith
“stage3 ‘C,’”and“ThingsAren’tAlways
WhatTheySeem”byAdamPitlukwere
greatstories thatmademerealizehow
verygrateful Iwas tobesittingnext tomy
mom, a30-yearbreast-cancersurvivor. I
amgrateful formycourageousmom for
fightingbreastcancerand for theeditors
of
AmericanWay
forpublishingsuchgreat
articles.Thankyou.
LynnHalliwell
Syracuse,NewYork
AssociateEditorAbbyKinsingerResponds:
Lynn, thanks for the kindwords about ourmagazine.
Someof the toughest people I knoware fighting
cancer right now, and I think “TheBigC”meanings
that Sarah identifies inher inspiringarticle— care,
18
DECEMBER2015
AMERICANWAY
