Steven Berlin:
CLASS OF 1965
Fullerton Union High SchoolClass of 1965
Fullerton, CA
Steven's Story
Where ever you go there you are!...... From Fullerton California to Bangkok Thailand where I live has been quite an adventure..I did try to change my location with class mates but their web site does not take foreign addresses maybe in the future, They do accept Canada but isn't that a foreign country ? go figure, any way the location you see is my sisters zip code in Long Beach but I really live in Thailand. Not at one time while growing up did I think I would end up in Bangkok...SJB......2014.
After graduation in 1965 I needed to work to save money for school imagine that . I managed a few odd jobs working as a grounds keeper at a country club to mowing lawns nothing permanent. If you remember back then there was something called the draft and if you were not in school you would receive greetings from Uncle Sam because the United States was gearing up for war in Asia. the main reason I was told for not being hired is that I would be drafted soon and they didn't want the expense of training me in a position and then loosing me to the Army plus by law they had to take you back when discharged, That August our fellow class mate Dave Tway and I joined the Air Force and away to San Antonio Texas and Lackland AFB for basic training we went, Tech School Keesler AFB Biloxi Mississippi where I survived Hurricane Betsey that hit Gulfport and New Orleans pretty hard that October. I received my orders Dec. for March AFB Riverside with SAC. as a radio operator. We had a Strategic Air Command then to deal with the Russians. where I worked for a year and then orders for a radio detachment SAC XRAY Hickham AFB Honolulu Hawaii. very tough duty keeping America safe during the cold war. Doing so I managed to avoid Viet Nam and one reason why I'm able to type this story. We lost a lot of friends over there. I received an honorable discharge after winning the cold war for me and achieving the rank of E5 staff sergeant July 1969 and returned to civilian life in southern California.
My first job out of the AF was loading trucks for Alpha Beta Markets at their ware house in La Habra.. 12 hr. shifts six to seven days a week good money ,big checks but not for me. I received a call from our class mate and my friend Dave Tway 0200 on a Tuesday morning about an opening with United Airlines and asked me if I was interested. It didn't take me long to make a choice and walked into United's office that Wednesday morning. I went to work for United Airlines October of 69.
Now this is where things really could have gone South. I was offered job in Panama R.P. Central America with my Uncle Don. Not sure if I really wanted a career with UAL I took the bait. I returned to California after six months in central America with little to show for it. I reapplied for my position with United as soon as I got back to the states Jan.71. United just went through a big furlough because of a downturn in the industry so no positions available. This was very bad news.. I was living with my sister Donna in Los Angeles . I did odd jobs to survive from handy man,short order cooking to mowing lawns nothing clicked. Not being able to find meaningful work I hitch hiked to Durango Colorado . from L.A. With $12.00 U.S. I got on interstate 10 and off to Durango using my thumb as a ticket.. I left LA 1100 and arrived Durango 1100 next day with $7.00 not bad considering I had to go where he rides took me and went the long way through Salt Lake City Utah.. My master plan for a change was based on my dad and mom who moved to Durango so I was to go to university at Ft. Lewis college on the GI Bill and reside with my parents while I going to school. to save money. I proceeded to work at Purgatory Inn as a short order cook while waiting to establish residence in Colorado to save on tuition costs . If you don't know about Colorado it is one of the lowest wage states in the United States. when I worked as a cook my wage was $0.95 when I left I was making $1.15 I found out the waitresses were supposed to give me a percentage of their tips 20 years later. Thanks a lot.
A little back ground is needed for those who don't know . My dad Al Berlin was a Journeyman plumber. I worked with him every summer with his company on a special work permit after I turned 15. In the school year we would do free lance jobs on the week ends. This is how I earned my spending money in high school and bought my pick up truck a 38 Chevrolet classic I had money to burn gas only $.20 cents a gallon and I could take a date out for dinner and a movie on $20.00 depending on the week end I would pull in $40.00 or more life was good any way to continue.. Winter is approaching in Colorado and I won't be able to start college with ft. Lewis this term . My residence was bot established in time , my dad approached me with an offer to get in The Plumbers Union in Orange County California and work on a permit for $7.50 a hour while waiting to test for the apprentice program. Sounded OK and back to California I go to see what happens. I test and place 35th out of 3500 applicants not bad . The bad news is close but no cigar they only had openings for 20 apprentices . Looks like a change is in order. Not soon ...Expand for more
after my work permit expires and I'm laid off. I became a insurance agent in Santa Ana after putting my application with every one I could think of with no hits. Have you ever been there? not fun. I really feel for the people who are looking for jobs now I've been there. I served an area around warner and Brook Hurst near fountain valley. Out of the blue in 72 a good friend of mine at United that I kept contact with called and said the magic words., " would you like your old job back?". In January of 72 I was rehired by United Airlines in flight operations..
Looking back on this you can see a lot of my life has been fluid with little planning and a lot of luck. I've seen many changes in the airline industry over the years. I've been through furloughs, strikes, bankruptcies, reduced wages and frozen pensions. when I was hired they were still using teletype, Every thing was hand done including time cards for pilots and stewardesses at the crew desk, thermal imaging for weather maps augmented with teletype weather reports. I had to make enroot weather reports pertaining to their flight plans.to plan for alternate airports incase of bad weather.. With the advent of computers my job was in jeopardy . There is a new opportunity on the horizon the airlines started hiring male stewards. What men working in a traditional female role ......hmmmmmmmmm I don't know about this but took a chance and became a male steward in August of 73 at the time there were only 200 male stewards at United with a population of 6000 female stewardesses . I liked the odds. The pilots resented us poaching their herd but they eventually got over it after 10 years or so too bad for them but there is no stopping time once the gate is open and time marches on.
Working for United I have traveled to every state of the union except Vermont. I have been domiciled in Washington D.C. , Cleveland, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tai Pei , Hong Kong where I finished my career. One thing about the airline industry seniority is the key for just about every thing. days off , routes layovers, vacations pay you name it. It is your quality of life of course when I transferred to Asia I went from number 3000 in San Francisco to number 3 in Tai Pei good move and hold any thing I wanted. top of the heap.
The last twenty years of my career I worked as Chief Purser from Tai Pei/Hong Kong to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Honolulu, New York, Tokyo, Bangkok, Seoul, Manila, Saigon,, New Delhi, Santiago Chili, Mexico City, Buenos Aries, Guatemala , London, Paris and Frankfurt.
When I arrived at my new domicile in Tai Pei . I decided to try living in Bangkok Thailand. United had a through flight to and from Bangkok through Tai Pei and because as a flight attendant receiving no subsidy for living /working over seas we had to make do on our own. So as a economical move I sold my home in Conifer Colorado and took up residence in Bangkok where the dollar would go a little further thus began my commuting years in Asia to Tai Pei and Hong Kong from Bangkok. I fell in love with the culture, people, food, beer, and the beautiful Thai women. What was not to like on a western salary where the dollar goes a long way. Sure it's a little hot and humid most of the time and away from the U.S.A. but you can deal with it and I don't have to shovel snow any more.
Twelve years ago I met my wife "Som", her nick name with a long "o", her formal name is Pataporn it's the best thing that ever happened to me at least that is what she tells me. . we have been blessed with two daughters Leia 10 and Donna 8. I consider myself one of the luckiest guys in the world being able to retire while my children are young so I can enjoy their life through their school years though I might regret it when they go through puberty.. I'm still looking for a career never really figured that one out, the airline job was just temporary I thought and was looking for a job when I got that one.. In Washington D.C. I learned to fly and obtained my commercial, instrument, and multi engine ratings with a flight instructor certificate. I just missed my pilot hiring envelope to be a pilot by a couple of years nobody was hiring at the time I completed my training and with Continental Pilots on strike and later Eastern pilots after Lorinzo took over.. So you have too many experienced pilots looking for jobs with thousands of hours of flight time flying heavy jets and me with just 850 hrs. in light airplanes and the biggest one being a Cessna 310 sad story but true. I'm sure you heard it many times..
reviewing my material and the experiences I've had I don't think I would change a thing. some times you just have to go with the flow. My motto is " I've started with nothing and I can start over with nothing." .always be on the look out for new opportunities because you never know where one job will lead you no matter how small. and one of my favorites . "you have nothing to fear but fear itself", thank you FDR. On holidays I've traveled the world from Easter Island to Tim BucTu. it's still fun to live on the edge and I'm still looking for a career......... Steve Berlin 2014
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