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Scalped!
James Wysong · June 13, 2004

Sometimes passengers and flight attendants interact in the most unexpected ways. When I think of odd customer encounters, the story of Jean always comes to mind.

Jean was a sweet older flight attendant. Her doctor had discovered a year before that she had had diabetes for most of her life, a condition that she had not been aware of. Once treated, she lost the weight that had always plagued her.

She had a fun-loving personality and many wonderful stories to tell. The engagement ring her late husband had given her was now a problem, as her fingers had become slim, and the generously sized diamond constantly made its way toward her palm. She chose to live with the problem instead of fixing it or leaving the ring at home.

On a flight to London, during the breakfast service, Jean rolled the cart down the aisle, quietly offering coffee and drinks to the few passengers who were awake. At one point, she swung her arm over a seat and reached for something on the drinks cart.

Her diamond hooked onto a passenger's toupee and plucked it off. In horror, she thought she saw a rat-like creature crawling up her hand.

She started to scream and wave her hand frantically, but the creature did not release her from its grip.

All of the passengers awoke and watched in fear as Jean tearing down the aisle, waving her hand ferociously. The other flight attendants and I were in shock as we watched the drama.

She made it to the back of economy class and started to hit the wall in an attempt to beat the creature into submission. She eventually stepped on the hairpiece, pulled her hand free, and disappeared into the nearest lavatory.

The cabin became silent, as all eyes were on the extremely embarrassed scalpee. He looked like a convertible caught in a rainstorm.

Although many tried to hold back their laughter, few were able to. The man promptly reached into his carry-on bag and pulled out a baseball cap and waved to the crowd good-naturedly.

Jean emerged from the restroom half an hour later, gave an apologetic hug to her victim, and received a round of applause from the cabin. She spoke to him for a while attempting to explain, and surreptitiously handed him a sick-bag containing the hairpiece. Before landing, Jean presented the man with a bottle of champagne for being a good sport.

The man left the sick bag with hairpiece behind, realizing he could never look at it in the same way again. Fearing the cabin cleaner's reaction when found, Jean kept it as a souvenir of her most embarrassing episode.

She eventually got her ring resized, but never lived down her new nickname of "Little Running Hair."

James Wysong has worked as a flight attendant with two major international carriers during the past fifteen years. He is the author of the "The Plane Truth: Shift Happens at 35,000 Feet" and "The Air Traveler's Survival Guide." For more information about Frank or his books, see his Web site or e-mail him.