Real life Pan Am.

As if I don't already watch enough TV, I decided to catch up and watch all three episodes of Pan Am tonight. As a bit of a history buff and a fan of the 1960s, I knew the show would interest me the instant I saw the commercial. However, I also have a much more personal connection to the show.

My grandparents (Nana and Grandad) met while working for Pan Am, my Grandad as a pilot and my Nana as a stewardess. After serving as a pilot in World War II, my Grandad took a job flying passenger planes for Pan American World Airways. During one of his flights, he met my Nana, a beautiful, young stewardess, who also served as the Spanish translator on the flights. After she denied his initial approach, he started to schedule himself on flights that he knew she would also be working. It didn't take long for her to agree to a date and the rest is history. They moved to Long Island (conveniently located near the Pan Am headquarters and JFK airport) and their first child, my dad, was born in 1952.

Although Pan Am takes place in the early 1960s, I absolutely loved watching it and replacing the characters with my grandparents. Although he didn't like to talk about it, my Grandad was truly a war hero, with the medals and ribbons to prove it. My Nana, a Chicago girl born and bred, really was a new breed of woman - independent, smart, and talented. It is so interesting to imagine how exciting their lives must have been - traveling to new places, seeing the world together.


My Grandad passed away from Alzheimer's a few years ago, but my Nana tunes in to ABC every Sunday night to watch the new episodes of Pan Am. Although she probably laughs at the romanticization of the job and the technical inaccuracies of the show, I'm sure she loves reminiscing on her days as a young woman. I'm sure she wishes my Grandad were still here to watch it with her, to hold her hand and remember. I bet, however, that the show also brings her comfort. It reminds her of him and the exciting life they shared in love. I suppose that's the awesome power of television. For one hour every week, he's with her - traveling to those old places, seeing the world together once more.