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Delta Airlines Flight Attendants: Gambling Shakedown

Flying from Jacksonville to Los Angeles meant leaving Florida at 7am to have a 25 minute layover/plane change in Memphis and then a straight shot home. Of course there was about a 5 minute delay getting off the first flight which would not have been a big deal if the other flight wasn’t about a half mile away. I swear I started at Gate A4 and had to run to B43 with an oversized purse, camera bag and computer bag. Yes, I routinely take an extra item on board, the computer bag is flat… I’m not taking up extra space it’s just an extra number.

In any event after running through the airport with a few other folks I got to my Memphis to LA flight just as they were closing the doors and promptly collapsed into my seat. I passed out cold for about two hours and awoke to the following over the PA system:

Delta airlines is raising money in October for breast cancer awareness and research. If you would all take out a bill; it can be $1, $5 or $20 and write your seat number on it we’ll be around to collect it and have a 50/50 raffle. We’ll put the money in bags and a winning bill will be drawn. We’ll then count the money and half of it will go to breast cancer charity and the other half will go to the winning seat. The only requirement is that the winner give some amount to charity.

I took notice that no particular charity was named. I was incredibly cranky about being woken up and unsure if I was irritated that flight attendants were asking people to blindly give cash to a charity that they didn’t know the name of or if I was irritated that an airplane full of people would just flip open their wallets without knowing where their money was going.

I was just irritated so I pulled out my iPhone and took a little video for proof because it was so bizarre that I didn’t think anyone would believe me otherwise.

After the ladies in pink collected $258 they announced that the charity is actually the Breast Cancer Research Foundation which is a top rated charity and should not be besmirched by gambling flight attendants who apparently do this on every flight in October.

I’m all pinked out. Breast cancer doesn’t need more awareness. We’re all aware, it just needs fewer jerks.