James Wysong: Difference between revisions

Wysong was raised in [[Ojai, California]], the youngest of three children. In 1984 he joined the Army as a trumpet player based in Germany. The band toured Europe, “playing everything from nightclubs to opening ceremonies, but 75% of our performances were at German beer festivals.”{{factcitation needed|date=November 2018}}

In 1987 he left the military and went to college in California. Fluent in the German language, Wysong joined [[Pan American Airlines]] in 1989. He was based in London, England, where he met his wife, Antonia, who is also employed by the airlines, starting as a flight attendant and later as a pilot. Wysong completed his degree in computer science from [[Thames Valley University]] in England. After Pan Am went out of business, he wentproceeded to work for the airline that took over Pan Am's flyingflight routes, and eventuallyhe movedfinally backreturned the East Coast ofto the United States' East Coast in 1999. He and Antonia had a baby boy named Oliver James Wysong on February 2, 2006.{{factcitation needed|date=November 2018}}

Wysong aka A. Frank Steward continues to fly and write about his experiences in-flight. He has a weekly column at Tripso.com and [MSNBC.com]. He has flown over 6 million miles, encountered over half a million passengers, endured over 1,000 different delays and cancellations, argued with over 500 frequent flyers, and has flown to approximately 100 countries.{{factcitation needed|date=November 2018}}

His hobbies include [[people watching]], traveling, writing, chess, running, and lucid dreaming. He has completed a novel and a screenplay about a young man's adventures through lucid dreaming titled ''Dream Weaver'', and is currently writing another novel/screenplay titled ''Shady Acres''.{{factcitation needed|date=November 2018}}

Authors who influenced him in his budding writing career include [[Jack London]] and [[Robert Fulghum]], who taught him that “you have to live life in order to write about life.” His favorite quote is from Jack London: “I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”{{factcitation needed|date=November 2018}}

According to [[USA Today]] and [[The Globe and Mail]], Wysong's first book, ''The Air Traveler's Survival Guide,'' was not widely reviewed because it was published in September 2001 when news media focused on the 9/11 attacks to the exclusion of other types of coverage.<ref name="ClarkReview"/><ref name="McArthurReview">{{cite news |last1=McArthur |first1=Douglas |title=Will that be chicken, beef or possum? (book review) |url=https://search.proquest.com/news/docview/384254512/21E8FBEB330A4DA4PQ/5?accountid=10226 |accessdate=6 November 2018 |publisher=Globe and Mail |date=30 January 2002|id={{ProQuest|384254512}} }}</ref>

* ''The Air Traveler's Survival Guide'' (2001) ({{ISBN|1-57023-242-3}})<ref name="McArthurReview"/><ref name="Globetrotting">{{cite news |title=Globetrotting (book review) |url=https://search.proquest.com/news/docview/415438374/21E8FBEB330A4DA4PQ/32?accountid=10226 |accessdate=6 November 2018 |publisher=[[The Times-Picayune]] |date=23 December 2001|id={{ProQuest|415438374}} }}</ref>

* ''The Plane Truth: Shift Happens at 35,000 Feet'' (2003) ({{ISBN|1-57023-211-3}})<ref name="ClarkReview">{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Jayne |title=A frank steward reveals 'Plane Truth' (book review) |url=https://search.proquest.com/news/docview/408892528/32C5FBDA92664BCCPQ/16?accountid=10226 |accessdate=6 November 2018 |publisher=USA Today |date=7 November 2003|id={{ProQuest|408892528}} }}</ref><ref name="HanlonReview">{{cite news |last1=Hanlon |first1=Michael |title=Book reveals the plane truth (book review) |url=https://search.proquest.com/news/docview/438401148/fulltext/21E8FBEB330A4DA4PQ/4?accountid=10226 |accessdate=6 November 2018 |publisher=[[Toronto Star]] |date=16 February 2002|id={{ProQuest|438401148}} }}</ref>

* ''Air Travel Tales from the Flight Crew'' (2005)<ref name="KeelerReview">{{cite news |last1=Keeler |first1=Janet |title=Tales from above Series: SIDE TRIP (book review) |url=https://search.proquest.com/news/docview/264054912/32C5FBDA92664BCCPQ/18?accountid=10226 |accessdate=6 November 2018 |publisher=St. Petersburg Times |date=1 December 2005|id={{ProQuest|264054912}} }}</ref><ref name="JetLag">{{cite news |title=Advice on air travel, from germs to jet lag (book review) |url=https://search.proquest.com/news/docview/242223055/21E8FBEB330A4DA4PQ/19?accountid=10226 |accessdate=6 November 2018 |publisher=[[Vancouver Sun]] |date=10 December 2005|id={{ProQuest|242223055}} }}</ref> ({{ISBN|1-57023-242-3}})<ref name="FlightCrew">{{cite news |title=Air Travel Tales From the Flight Crew |url=https://www.chron.com/life/travel/article/Air-Travel-Tales-From-the-Flight-Crew-1634687.php |accessdate=6 November 2018 |agency=AP |publisher=[[Houston Chronicle]] |date=22 January 2006}}</ref>

* ''More Air Travel Tips and Tales From the Flight Crew'' (2008)<ref name="FlyingHigh">{{cite news |title=Gear guides: ‘Flying'Flying High With A Frank Steward |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2008/03/15/gear-guides-flying-high-with-a-frank-steward/ |accessdate=6 November 2018 |publisher=[[The Mercury News]] |date=15 March 2008}}</ref><ref name="BrownReview">{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=J.D. |title=Flying High With A Frank Steward (brief book review) |url=https://search.proquest.com/news/docview/456848351/fulltext/21E8FBEB330A4DA4PQ/15?accountid=10226 |accessdate=6 November 2018 |agency=McClatchy - Tribune News Service |date=10 March 2008|id={{ProQuest|456848351}} }}</ref>

* [httphttps://www.msnbc.msnnbcnews.com/id/10913368/wbna10913368 MSNBC bio]{{dead link|date=November 2018}}