Page 16 May 31, 2018 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Linda Messia from front page
weight and height requirements.” Eventual
legislation did away with these stringent
requirements. Linda has three grown children
and two grandsons who all live in Oregon,
except for her eldest son who resides in
Huntington Beach.
Thinking back on her airline career, Linda
recalls flying a turnaround from LAX to
Kauai on September 11, 2001. “We arrived
back at LAX at 5:30 a.m. -- and since I lived
in El Segundo, I was home and fast asleep
before the airplanes hit the World Trade
Center and Pentagon,” she said. “The time
change allowed me to sleep until a phone
call from another flight attendant informed
me of our planes hitting both of the above.
I knew that life would never be the same
for my airline and any of the others.” As it
turned out, she was on the first plane to leave
LAX (or anywhere else) when commercial
flight service resumed on September 14. The
incident affected her deeply. “At that time, I
decided to volunteer with the US Air Force
and fly our troops from within the United
States to Germany and then onto Kuwait,
Iraq and Bosnia for three months.” Linda
was stationed in Frankfurt during this period.
So, about those Beatles? Almost. But first,
it may be interesting to note that Linda also
used to be a partner in a business called High
Flight Gun Sales in San Fernando. “It was
always weird when I would take my break
in the cockpit,” she said. “In 1985, I took
on the position of purser on international
flights whose job responsibilities were from
the cockpit door through to the rest of the
plane. As the pilots were flying and sometimes
reading Guns and Ammo magazines,
I would mention the new firearm just made
with a red ramp and white outline. It was
fun to see them spin around with mouths
open wondering how I knew about guns.”
With a career spanning five different
decades, Linda decided to write her autobiography
in 2007 as a way to give her
children a look at her life story. The title was
Now an ESPD RSVP, Linda Messia was a 24-year-old flight attendant back in 1966 when The Beatles landed in San Francisco before
their final concert held at Candlestick Park. There she is in the photo standing by the door behind the boys. This vintage postcard also
lists various tour stops for the band. Photo Provided by Linda Messia.
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Something Special in the Air, named after the
American Airlines slogan. She continues to
be involved with a Kiwi organization that is
a charity project for airline members past and
present. “We meet once a month for lunch
and give back to needy families,” Linda
said. “It was difficult in writing the book
to decide 35 chapters that were flights that
stood out to me to be the ones that I would
never forget.” And this is where that Beatles
story finally comes into play…
August 29, 1966 was the date of the final
Beatles concert before the group “retired”
from live performing to concentrate on studio
recording. The storied event took place
at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park. The
crew knew Linda was a huge rock and roll
fan who also lived down the street from the
iconic Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip
– and so they offered her a special charter
flight. “We met at the airplane next to our
Superbay Hanger and set up the plane with
sandwich trays, drinks and 35 miniature boxes
of Corn Flakes and 35 cartons of milk,” she
remembered. Among the passengers were the
four members of The Beatles, who sat in first
class where there was also a lounge. “After
serving drinks, I sat next to Paul [McCartney]
in the lounge and talked to him for a half
hour. Down-to-earth guy and so normal...” The
“cute Beatle,” as he was known, even asked
the manager to invite Linda to a party at a
Hollywood mansion. She politely declined.
It was then that the unforgettable meeting
became even more memorable. “We were
offering sandwiches from the linen-lined
tray and Ringo [Starr] accidentally slid one
to the corner of the tray,” Linda said. “When
I went to offer one to John [Lennon], who
was at this time enjoying his bowl of Corn
Flakes with milk, the corner sandwich fell
right into the middle of the Corn Flake bowl
and splattered milk and flakes onto John’s
face, hair, ears and even his nose. I was
shocked and grabbed some paper towels to
wipe off the flakes and milk. John just smiled
and said, ‘No problem, luv.’” In fact, I was
given 12 x 12 autographs by the boys and
John wrote, ‘To Linda, Thanks for the Corn
Flakes. Love, John Lennon.’”
Upon arriving in San Francisco, Linda was
part of the decoy bus to divert thousands of
screaming fans away from the band. She and
two other stewardesses even got to see part
of the concert while sitting in an armored
car that also provided protection from the
wind and cold. “We were told that we needed
to take a cab back to the plane 15 minutes
before the concert ended, by crew schedule,”
she said. “It was a wonderful flight and of
course the concert was a great memory.”
And certainly it was only a coincidence that
McCartney’s future wife was named Linda.
Meanwhile, Linda Messia feels blessed
to make an ongoing positive contribution
to the El Segundo community and hopes to
continue doing so for years to come. “This
is a city where I have lived and worked
since the late 1990s and I truly feel that it is
my home and family,” she said. “I have no
thoughts of retiring from the RSVP program
and hope to be active as health allows.” Just
make sure you pay extra close attention if
you are in the same room with Linda and a
box of cereal… •
“When you’ve seen beyond yourself
– then you may find, peace of mind.”
– The Beatles