American Airlines Flight Attendant On Doomed Plane Left A Mark On One OutKick Reader

Look, what happened in Washington D.C. earlier this week was awful. Just awful. I can't even imagine, and, frankly, I don't want to. 

People died. A lot of people. Good people. Our people. We've spent all week trying to piece together what happened, and placing blame, and pointing fingers. And that's all fine. Whatever. It's human nature, so I get it. 

But I don't have any interest in doing that here. Not right now. Not today. Instead, I want to talk about the people who were on that American Airlines flight, and the helicopter that it collided with. Sixty-seven people died, and they all deserve their stories to be told. 

Right now – thanks to one OutKick reader – we're going to focus on one in particular: Flight attendant Ian Epstein. 

We've all been on a million flights. I hate flying, and I've still flown hundreds of times in my 31 years. How many of you still, to this day, remember a certain flight attendant? I don't. 

I'd imagine most of you don't either. Why would you? Flying is awful. Nobody likes it, and we're all miserable while doing it. 

You have to get up early, sit in traffic, sit in lines, take your shoes off, pay $20 for a turkey sandwich, and then cram yourself in a metal tube for hours on end. There is literally nothing good about it. 

Unless, of course, you had Ian manning the aisle. 

"Zach, as a frequent flyer with American Airlines, I wanted to tell you about the gem of the flight attendant we lost, Ian Epstein, who brought the party to the air," Jeff D. from Virginia wrote to me late last night. 

"I don’t remember too many flight attendants, but I remember Ian."

American Airlines flight attendant Ian Epstein loved life 

The serious stuff isn't my lane here at OutKick. I'm the NASCAR guy, and the Nightcaps guy, and the guy who makes fun of the left because they're so deranged. 

But the real stuff? The serious stuff? Not for me. I like to laugh, and have fun, and enjoy my eight hours a day I'm logged on. 

But that's why I wanted to relay what Jeff from Virginia told me last night. It's serious, but Ian Epstein sounds a hell of a lot like me – someone who loved to laugh, and have fun, and enjoy life. 

"As I boarded my 9 a.m flight from Charlotte to Savannah, Ian was at the door asking everyone what kind of alcoholic beverage they wanted – didn’t matter whether first class or coach," Jeff continued. "His crowd-work on the plane was hilarious. He even talked the 80-year-old lady sitting next to me into a third glass of wine."

I'm in. LOVE this dude. As someone who, again, HATES flying, I would've loved to be on one of Ian's flights. My kind of people. Apparently, he used to be a comedian before making the career-change of the century and becoming a flight attendant. Insane.

Can't think of a bigger 180, but Ian did it, and he did it well. 

"I had one, one-hour interaction with him, and it was so positive I can still remember him six months later," Jeff said. "At a time when flight crews were trying to do the absolute minimum, he went out of his way to make everyone on the flight feel good."

This is the kind of guy we lost earlier this week. I'm sure there are others out there, and I'm sure their stories will be told in the coming weeks and months. 

I know we all want to point fingers right now and play the blame-game. Again, it's natural. I get it. It sucks, but I get it. 

Today, though, I want to remember Ian Epstein. He sounded like one hell of a dude, and I'd imagine the stand-up scene up in the clouds just got a lot funnier. 

RIP. 

"I’m sure everyone on that plane was in a good mood," Jeff added. "And (I'm sure) Ian is serving up drinks in Heaven."