Frequent fliers, take note: The skies have never before been quite this friendly. Meet Miss November, Lorraine Olivia, flight attendant aboard United Airlines. When she suggests that you fasten your seat belt low and snug across your lap, listen up. We met Lorraine at a party following an arena-foot
...ball game in Chicago. As she remembers it, "I was looking pretty grody in a T-shirt and tights" when she was approached by one of Playboy's photo staffers, who told her, "I'm with Playboy. You should come in for a test shoot sometime." Lorraine's reaction: "I thought I'd heard every line, but this beats them all." When the assistant showed her the proper credentials, however, Lorraine became a believer. So did we when her test photos were developed. It's really no surprise that we met Lorraine at a sporting event - she's quite the jock, enjoying aerobics, racquetball and tennis. She used to play golf, too, but recently told us, "I've put my clubs in storage." We've thought about doing that ourselves. As is evident about anyone who would voluntarily attend arena-football games, Lorraine also likes spectator sports. Her most profound passion as a fan is the Chicago Cubs. She started rooting for them during their big 1984 season; they were the cause of frequent no-shows at the car dealership and the pharmacy where she held jobs: "I always had to ask myself, Did I use that excuse last week?" (Note to future employers: Lorraine's favorite excuse was that she had to "check out colleges.") Fortunately, free afternoons are more plentiful in Lorraine's current line of work, so she doesn't have to fib to get out to the ball park. She applied to United in the fall of 1989, and to her surprise (but certainly not ours), she whisked through the group interviews, public-speaking tests, role-playing exercises and one-on-one interrogations to join the high-flying world of flight attendants. Now she is yet another good reason to visit Newark, New Jersey: That's her flight base. Those of you reading this magazine in flight may want to take another look around the cabin. Locate all flight attendants and determine if any matches the photos included herein. If so, you may begin to feel lightheaded. Press your call button; perhaps Miss November will assist you with an oxygen mask.
