I grew up in the South, a dreamer of faraway places. A college semester in London, the very summer that Charles and Diana married, only stoked that. After graduation, I came across a classified ad in the Raleigh News and Observer for a flight attendant job based in New York City. I didn’t think I had a shot, but applied anyway.

My next recollection is entering a huge hotel conference room at the airport where I found myself surrounded by hundreds of other applicants. Somehow I made it through that day’s round of interviews, and the airline, New York Air, flew me to New York City for final interviews.

One day I’d been miserable, doing my porch swing version of Dustin Hoffman’s pool scene in “The Graduate," and the next day, I was in a group of some 75 flight attendant wannabes in a hangar at LaGuardia Airport. I was in a daze. Finally someone said, “We’re ready to announce the 30 members of our new inflight class.” I looked around. This was a huge deal to most everyone. A life’s dream. Most of them had family members there. Me? I was alone.

They called my name. I stepped forward, wide-eyed, still feeling like this was a dream. Others they called were crying. Later, they pinned a New York Air silver apple pin on me with my name on it.

Being a flight attendant isn’t all fun and games, I’d quickly find out. Inflight training was rigorous. But I had a lot of fun during those days too. One of my best memories was meeting the actor Bill Murray on a flight. By then I was used to seeing all sorts of famous people, but this was different. Out of nowhere, a really bad, faux southern accent came out of my mouth and I drawled, “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Murray.” I was immediately embarrassed. But he shot right back in an equally bad southern accent, “Well it sure is nice to meet you, Miss Marcia!” with a wicked grin.

About a year after I answered that ad, I landed my next job at a Madison Avenue advertising agency. I ended up living in New York City for the next 30 years. Journalism and graduate school came later. I got married and both of my sons were born in the Big Apple.

I think how different my life would have been had I not answered that classified ad on that lazy summer’s day on the porch swing. That one simple action drastically altered my own life’s flight plan, allowing me to reach even higher heights.