Oyster News 49 - Oyster Yachts

Still Flying Under
Wearing a maroon shirt with the sleeves
rolled up two turns, 50s style, khaki
pants and running shoes, Robert Crandall
answered the door of his Turtle Creek
apartment in Dallas, stuck out his hand and
quickly introduced himself. Gesturing
toward the living room, he said to make
myself at home. He was on the telephone.
The apartment is more luxury hotel suite
than "home." The living room is spacious,
bright, with an exterior glass wall. A glassshelved
bookcase on a long interior wall
displays dozens of awards Crandall
received during the 25 years he was
President, then Chairman and CEO of
American Airlines. He retired in 1998, but
for Bob Crandall retirement means
applying himself with the same diligence in
other directions. I could hear his deep,
radio voice echoing from the kitchen,
punctuated once by a startling, signature
cackle he emits when something strikes
his funny bone.
At 67, Bob Crandall is tall, slim, and fit
from a lifetime of running four miles a day
except when hell or high water has
intervened. But this day he is moving with
some care, having had surgery for a
herniated disk just a week before. "I’m
corseted," he said smacking the hard
support device under his shirt with his
hand as he eased himself into a chair. I’d
heard that Crandall walked a mile the third
day after surgery. "Yeah," he said with a
look that asked, doesn’t everybody? "The
sooner you get going the faster you’ll heal
and be back up to speed," he said. Then
he smiled. "But the day after the
operation when they hauled me out of bed
for a walk I have to say it hurt like hell."
For 25 years Bob Crandall applied his
pragmatic, plainspoken approach to
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