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“Stewardess Cleveland, you either cut out the accent or get back in the Galley!
These harsh words came from the Pan American Captain I was so anxious to meet. We were to fly from New York, where I was based, to Caracas, Venezuela.
“Oh, Captain Burn, I’m so sorry but I’ve always talked this way.” I drawled, with tears streaming down my blushing cheeks.
“It’s O.K., stewardess Cleveland, never mind,” Stated the captain flatly with his head lowered.
But I did “get back to the galley,” upset, confused and sad that my Mississippi manner of speech had caused a highly anticipated meeting to become an embarrassing event. “Betty Jane, what’d you learn from that, baby?” My mind drifted to questions from my mom whenever a disturbing event occurred in my youth. I had no Idea what the lesson was other than—my Southern accent does not work!
In that moment I made a commitment to learning the Queen’s English. Since the beginning of my Pan Am career 1959, I had been teased about my speech. I heard, “Coffee, tea, or me, honey?” many times on my international flights to South America. So many times that I started wearing my Phi Beta Kappa key thinking my passengers would think I was smart and would no longer tease me. Even the key made things worse, when from time to time an incredulous passenger asked, “Is that your daddy’s key?”
This time was different. Captain Burn was the Pan American pilot who saved the life of Jane Froman, a very popular singer whose career was climbing when World War Two broke out. On a USO trip to Europe in 1943, her Pan Am Flight crashed outside Portugal. Though severely injured, she was rescued by Captain John Burn.
Her story and eventual marriage to Burn were later told in the movie, With a Song in my Heart, starring Susan Hayward as Jane Froman. I was anxious to meet this now famous captain whose wife made one of my favorite songs, “Because of You,” famous. Finally because of that meeting, I decided to change my accent forever.
My second year with Pam Am, I flew from San Francisco to Europe and the Orient. It was easy to learn a new language listening to those who really knew how to speak it, on flights to Sidney, Australia or to London, England. Having a “good ear,” I studied their speech and mimicked their phrases. I went to the extreme with my new accent.
When my friends or my mom would call from Mississippi, I was chastised with a, “Now, honey, you quit puttin' on, you hear!” Undeterred I even challenged my passengers; when they asked where I was from. Just to test my progress I would answer, “Make a few guesses and then I’ll tell you,” Soon no one could pin point my heritage jumping from country to country and never picking a Southern state.
My international flights were discontinued by my marriage in 1961. Five years later I was watching a TV documentary on Jane Froman when the puzzle of the galley confrontation with Captain Burn was solved. I had flown with him many times to various countries in South America and neither of us had ever mentioned our first meeting in the cockpit. The documentary explained why I had been sent away. John Burn was marrying a New York socialite and divorcing his
Southern Belle, Jane. He thought I was giving him “what for” with my Southern speech. Because of you, John Bern, I can now speak a new language…
Every negative experience from cancer to confrontation has a blessing for us. From this experience, I learned that embarrassing events can bring positive results. We can raise our self-esteem by being grateful, seeking the lesson and learning from each event.
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