A Flight to Amazon By :Mumtaz Bhutta From the moment the plane took off from the soil of Santiago, Chile, I felt a new kind of excitement wash over me; something that I hadn’t quite felt over any of my previous journeys. Nothing so far was different. I got my bags checked in, had my I.D checked several hundred times, climbed on the plane, and fastened my seat belt as usual. An announcement made by the captain in Spanish resonated within the closed chamber of the plane as all the passengers sat and listened closely. Of course I could not make out a single word of the Spanish, but luckily an English announcement followed. “Welcome aboard on TAM Airlines! This is your Captain Carlos Crasco. Our flight time to Sao Paulo will be approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes. We will be flaying at the altitude of……“ A familiar accent rang a bell in my head. He sounded like someone I knew…even the name slightly rang a bell. “Carlos Crasco…” I said under my breath as he continued speaking on the intercom. I started raking my brain, trying to figure out why this captain seemed so familiar. This name and voice have been around me for quite a time. But who was it? I could not control my curiosity any longer, so called the near by air hostess over “Senorita, is the Captain of this plane related to the owner of TAM Airline?” She nodded and said with a slight accent and a smile, “Yes sir; he’s the owner’s nephew, rather now one of the owners.” “I See. I can I have a paper to write on please?” I requested. Oh my God, I thought, TAM has grown to be SO big in Brazil. I got lost in my memories from the late 1990s in Miami. I wrote “Major Bhutta’’ in bold letters and it handed over to her by saying, “Can you do me a favor and give this to Carlos.” “Of course,” She said taking the slip and shuffling away to the Captain’s cabin. After about twenty mitues Carlos appeared with a wide grin, looking dashing in his uniform as usual. “Oh my God Major, You son of------- what the hell are you doing in this part of the world?!” he grabbed me as we gave each other a big hug. “Come on, lets talk in my cabin,” He said dragging me off. He turned to an air hostess and demanded the best Champagne on board. We stepped into the cabin, which was much larger than I had expected. The Senior Pilot sat in the cockpit. “Sir, I’d like you meet Major, an old friend of mine, we took an MBA course together at Florida International University and then six months we specialized in “Operations Management” in Hospitality together in Miami USA,” he proudly introduced me to his senior flight attendant. We sat down and talked so much about our old days; we had shared many long hard hours at FIU and on top of that even more hours for our training in different Miami hotels, especially during our “Grave Yard Shifts” (Night Duty). “Carlos! Your Airline is HUGE in this part of the world. You remember when you introduced me to your uncle in Miami? He was just starting to build his office for this new airline, and back then I was in the Caviar Company. I convinced your uncle to introduce caviar in Business class,” I said with a chuckle, “Are you still keeping my advice intact?” We laughed as I took a sip of my favorite Champaign. “Well actually, we have! We are going to begin serving caviar again starting next year, as you know once the Brazilian Economy has climbed up again. “How is your uncle doing” I asked He paused for a moment, “Major, he passed away seven years ago.” I sat there completely stunned for a moment, as he was a very fit and healthy man when I met him in 2001. He was the man who inspired me to go forward and only forward. He was the man who taught me a lot more than any American education would have. He also taught be to, “Never to look back” I still remember his tale of his creation of this TAM Airline. It was a warm, sunny afternoon, where he told me being a fighter soldier himself. A day I will never forget. He said to me: “Major I was an army Aviator in Brazilian Army. After few years of service I was finished. I quit from my army and bought a very old but decently working small aircraft. I started dropping the “rations” and “Batteries” for people living in the darkness of the Amazon Jungle, especially in the State of Amazonas, up north in Brazil. Eventually I felt like I needed more planes to serve my unfortunate people so my urge to serve my hungry people was increasing and increasing; as I always loved to serve my people in need, undiscovered people and infamous folks living hideous lives in the woods. I was always in search of new horizons for my people. More over, I personally loved the sound of the waterfalls and fresh smell of the jungle. I hired more pilots and bought more small planes in my fleet and now I am sitting in front of you in Miami, USA trying establish my base for TAM here, and you, another tit of a soldier from some unknown world is trying to convince me to serve caviar in my business class,” I could see his broad smile behind his thick grey mustaches. The man spoke with a lot of conviction and passion. I snapped back into reality. “Carlos, I am so sorry to learn about the death of your uncle, I always thought he would live forever, but I’m certain…that his name will never die,” I said with moistened eyes. The plane started descending to land at Sao Paulo Airport. “Major, you will be only my guest in Brazil; you better alter your “F” plans. We are going to take a trip tomorrow to “Manaus” to smell the real wet woods of the Amazon.---------
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 04:07:08 +0000
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