It is the last day of August, 2008. We are on our trip back to the Mainland from our Alaska cruise vacation. We had several hours wait at the Anchorage Airport waiting for a plane to take us to Seatt
le and then onto Detroit. I was curiously looking at these Alaska Airlines planes taxiing near the terminal and I recognized the same emblem on these planes painted on their tails. They were the same logos I saw fifty four years ago. They all carried the same black painting of a funny looking face of a man with rabbit like ears who looked more like a Walt Disney creation. The attendant at the airline desk smiled at me when I asked the question, “Who is that funny looking man in your plane logo?” She told me he was the man who started Alaska Airlines. When we finally boarded the Alaska plane, I was again startled to see the same embroidery decorations on the cabin partition walls. There was this same embroidery carpet in Native Alaska design as I saw t
hem in 1954 when I took the Alaska prop plane from Seattle to San Francisco. These images started me to reminisce down memory lane when I made my initial trip to the USA.
It was early September 1954. The Northwest Orient Airlines plane was on the tarmac in Manila. We passengers were embarking. During those days you boarded the planes on the tarmac with a roll away staircase on the side of the plane entrance doors. I remember my father rapidly taking pictures with his powerful 1.2 lense Laica camera. As I boarded the plane, my father said to me, “You don’t have a camera. Here!” So he promptly placed the camera on my neck and off I went on my first leg of the trip. I still have this camera. Every time I see it, I think of my father.
We stopped in Okinawa to drop off some US service men and picked up others while at the Base airport. We then proceeded to Tokyo where Northwest treated us for a one day and night stay in Tokyo, meals and hotel expenses paid by the airlines. While in Tokyo, we did some sight seeing in the city which still showed the scars of the air raid bombings of World War II. I remember an elderly man shouting at a boy not to talk to me. Being a mestizo, he probably thought I was an American tourist. During the night we toured Ginza street in Tokyo which is now the equivalent of Tokyo’s NY 5th Avenue. We passed some night clubs with scantily clad Japanese young girls luring us to come in. Many of the Filipinos in my group went in. Like a dope I copped out and went back to our Marenuchi Hotel which was right close to the Emperial Palace. The Japanese Emperor resided there.
The next day, our prop plane took off bound for Anchorage. We had a stop over at Hokaido for refueling. Non-stop long trips were non existent then. On our trip to Alaska, I was amazed at the snow covered mountains we passed along the way. Planes traveled at only about 20,000 feet altitude, so it seemed we were skirting along the mountains of Alaska. On landing in Anchorage, we were given lunch and took off again bound for Seattle While inside the plane everyone was in a jovial mood finally going to the US and people including myself seemed to be partying around. Suddenly those artic winds in Alaska started to make our plane bounce around like we were in a long roller coaster ride. People got sick and started to throw up. Yes, I also was sick as a dog. I remember the Scandinavian looking stewardess whom I had an early conversation with from Minnesota. She started chuckling while talking to the plane male purser. She probably was telling him, “Look at that Filipino, he is throwing up too”.
We landed in Seattle at night. As soon as we touched ground I was recovering. Our Filipino group chose a restaurant in the airport to have supper. My first impression of the US was this is like being in another world where everything looked luxurious. While eating supper at this restaurant, our Filipino self appointed leader started flirting with the blond waitress who enjoyed all the attention of the Filipinos. What irritated me at the end is this Filipino asked everyone in the table to give the waitress a big tip.
Seattle-Tacoma airport has changed much after 54 years. An airport worker kindly gave us a map and directions how to get to the S-terminal for our transfer plane bound for Detroit. We went thru 3 escalators and 2 transfer rail cars around the airport. If this was the same airport some 54 years ago I would still be there looking for my transfer plane bound for San Francisco.
The next morning I was on my flight for San Francisco to stay with my brother and his family before proceeding to Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.. Instead of Northwest, I now boarded an Alaska Airlines plane with this same funny looking man logo in its tail and also the same Alaska embroidery carpet inside the cabin walls. After 54 years the only changes were now they are jet planes and before the stewardesses were prettier and in their late teens or early twenties. While in the plane bound for San Francisco, I was getting homesick and longed for some familiar company. As I arrived at the airport in San Francisco, I was excited and quickly picked up the phone to talk to my brother who was working in the city. I was surprised to hear from him what I gathered was a less than enthusiastic reception as he told me to wait at the airport for several hours until he got out of work. My brother, his wife and three close to the same age small children had a nice home in Richmond, near SF. I did not feel at ease while in their home. From then on I started my journey in the US, vowing to depend only on myself and I have stayed that way ever since. But I also had my time of joy while in Richmond. Once at a candy store, I stopped by and bought me an enticing foot long chocolate covered caramel and peanut Baby Ruth bar for only 10 cents. I ate it all.
le and then onto Detroit. I was curiously looking at these Alaska Airlines planes taxiing near the terminal and I recognized the same emblem on these planes painted on their tails. They were the same logos I saw fifty four years ago. They all carried the same black painting of a funny looking face of a man with rabbit like ears who looked more like a Walt Disney creation. The attendant at the airline desk smiled at me when I asked the question, “Who is that funny looking man in your plane logo?” She told me he was the man who started Alaska Airlines. When we finally boarded the Alaska plane, I was again startled to see the same embroidery decorations on the cabin partition walls. There was this same embroidery carpet in Native Alaska design as I saw t
hem in 1954 when I took the Alaska prop plane from Seattle to San Francisco. These images started me to reminisce down memory lane when I made my initial trip to the USA.It was early September 1954. The Northwest Orient Airlines plane was on the tarmac in Manila. We passengers were embarking. During those days you boarded the planes on the tarmac with a roll away staircase on the side of the plane entrance doors. I remember my father rapidly taking pictures with his powerful 1.2 lense Laica camera. As I boarded the plane, my father said to me, “You don’t have a camera. Here!” So he promptly placed the camera on my neck and off I went on my first leg of the trip. I still have this camera. Every time I see it, I think of my father.
We stopped in Okinawa to drop off some US service men and picked up others while at the Base airport. We then proceeded to Tokyo where Northwest treated us for a one day and night stay in Tokyo, meals and hotel expenses paid by the airlines. While in Tokyo, we did some sight seeing in the city which still showed the scars of the air raid bombings of World War II. I remember an elderly man shouting at a boy not to talk to me. Being a mestizo, he probably thought I was an American tourist. During the night we toured Ginza street in Tokyo which is now the equivalent of Tokyo’s NY 5th Avenue. We passed some night clubs with scantily clad Japanese young girls luring us to come in. Many of the Filipinos in my group went in. Like a dope I copped out and went back to our Marenuchi Hotel which was right close to the Emperial Palace. The Japanese Emperor resided there.
The next day, our prop plane took off bound for Anchorage. We had a stop over at Hokaido for refueling. Non-stop long trips were non existent then. On our trip to Alaska, I was amazed at the snow covered mountains we passed along the way. Planes traveled at only about 20,000 feet altitude, so it seemed we were skirting along the mountains of Alaska. On landing in Anchorage, we were given lunch and took off again bound for Seattle While inside the plane everyone was in a jovial mood finally going to the US and people including myself seemed to be partying around. Suddenly those artic winds in Alaska started to make our plane bounce around like we were in a long roller coaster ride. People got sick and started to throw up. Yes, I also was sick as a dog. I remember the Scandinavian looking stewardess whom I had an early conversation with from Minnesota. She started chuckling while talking to the plane male purser. She probably was telling him, “Look at that Filipino, he is throwing up too”.
We landed in Seattle at night. As soon as we touched ground I was recovering. Our Filipino group chose a restaurant in the airport to have supper. My first impression of the US was this is like being in another world where everything looked luxurious. While eating supper at this restaurant, our Filipino self appointed leader started flirting with the blond waitress who enjoyed all the attention of the Filipinos. What irritated me at the end is this Filipino asked everyone in the table to give the waitress a big tip.
Seattle-Tacoma airport has changed much after 54 years. An airport worker kindly gave us a map and directions how to get to the S-terminal for our transfer plane bound for Detroit. We went thru 3 escalators and 2 transfer rail cars around the airport. If this was the same airport some 54 years ago I would still be there looking for my transfer plane bound for San Francisco.
The next morning I was on my flight for San Francisco to stay with my brother and his family before proceeding to Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.. Instead of Northwest, I now boarded an Alaska Airlines plane with this same funny looking man logo in its tail and also the same Alaska embroidery carpet inside the cabin walls. After 54 years the only changes were now they are jet planes and before the stewardesses were prettier and in their late teens or early twenties. While in the plane bound for San Francisco, I was getting homesick and longed for some familiar company. As I arrived at the airport in San Francisco, I was excited and quickly picked up the phone to talk to my brother who was working in the city. I was surprised to hear from him what I gathered was a less than enthusiastic reception as he told me to wait at the airport for several hours until he got out of work. My brother, his wife and three close to the same age small children had a nice home in Richmond, near SF. I did not feel at ease while in their home. From then on I started my journey in the US, vowing to depend only on myself and I have stayed that way ever since. But I also had my time of joy while in Richmond. Once at a candy store, I stopped by and bought me an enticing foot long chocolate covered caramel and peanut Baby Ruth bar for only 10 cents. I ate it all.
1 comment:
I love the new blog-good story about the logo. Now I know whose face it is!
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