Rebecca Cunningham

The bright young owner of Higher for Hire Air Cargo Service, Rebecca Cunningham is the foremost female businesswoman in Cape Suzette. Resourceful and tenacious — with a temper to match — Ms. Cunningham has guided the formerly-unknown company into becoming a profitable independent shipping firm with a widespread reputation. Challenged by the twin difficulties of running a business and raising her daughter, Rebecca Cunningham succeeds at both and has made a name for herself in the air cargo business.

Born to a small family in Cape Suzette, young Rebecca Cunningham had a warm and cherished childhood. A bright and gifted student, Rebecca excelled in private schooling, impressing her teachers with her grasp of mathematics and basic economics. At Christmastime, Rebecca's family would spend the holidays in an idyllic winter retreat far from the city, a place which Rebecca recalls with great fondness during Christmases in the snowless climate of Cape Suzette.

In high school, Rebecca showed remarkable mastery of concepts such as market analysis and supply-demand relationships. Convinced that she could become a great businesswoman, Rebecca attended business night school following her high school graduation. Although she gained a reputation for letting stubborness affect her better judgment at times, Rebecca was continually at the head of her class and graduated as a Business Major with honors.

It was also during this time that Rebecca married. Ms. Cunningham is reluctant to talk about her personal life, but as far as is known, she and her husband shared a short but happy marriage and had a daughter — young Molly

Cunningham. What became of Rebecca's husband is unknown. Presumably, death rather than divorce separated them.

Now a single mother with a young daughter, Rebecca chose to become an independent entrepreneur. Rebecca's father got her started with a small courier service he had acquired. Rebecca strived to make her inherited business pay off, but disputes with the workers took their toll and the business folded in no time at all.

Undaunted, Rebecca began looking for another business, this time a failing one which she could purchase and turn into a real money-maker. After some searching, she found her opportunity in "Baloo's Air Service," an independently-owned cargo service facing foreclosure due to the owner's failure to repay his bank loan. Investing the remainder of her life's savings, Rebecca bought the business and transformed it into "Higher for Hire" Air Cargo Service. Today, after shrewd planning and strict management, Higher for Hire has gained a degree of fame among independent shippers, and Ms. Cunningham has earned the respect of colleagues and employees alike.

Rebecca Cunningham is a very strong-willed and independent woman. Her experiences in business have taught her that persistence is the key to success; hence, she is constantly looking for ways to improve services and customer relations. A leader in every sense of the word, "Becky" takes no backtalk from Baloo and runs Higher for Hire as efficiently as possible — a difficult task, given Baloo's laziness and lack of punctuality on delivery runs.

This situation is disheartening for Ms. Cunningham. A romantic as well as a perfectionist, Rebecca originally envisioned the air cargo business to be full of excitement and romance — but all she ever gets is clutter and disorder. And hobnobbing with the wealthy, upper-crust elite of society is out of the question. To remedy the situation, Rebecca puts pressure on Baloo to get assignments done, usually through threats of unemployment. She also schedules surprise inspections of the Sea Duck to make sure Baloo is running a ship-shape ship — although he sometimes is forewarned in advance by peeking at Becky's very private, "trespassers-will-be-shot" calendar kept locked in her desk.

Although Rebecca's career is important to her, she always tries to place her daughter Molly first on her list of priorities. Being a single mother, Rebecca is constantly balancing between doing business and spending time with her little "Pumpkin." She loves Molly very much and is devoted to raising her, but occasionally office work overwhelms Rebecca to the point that she is unable to spend much time with Molly at all. This sometimes creates friction between the two of them, but they always manage to work out their problems together. Rebecca would do anything for her daughter, even if it meant tying a tow rope around her waist and jumping out of the Sea Duck to save her.

While Rebecca is a devoted mother and sharp businesswoman, she has her faults — the biggest of which is her stubborness. Headstrong, Rebecca never takes "no" for an answer (or a question either). She is unwilling to admit when she is wrong, trusting that the ends will eventually justify the means. Rebecca tends to judge based on appearances, preferring rich sophisticates to uncouth slobs because "smart clothes make smart people." Her pigheadedness — combined with a very short temper — leads to explosive tantrums and outbursts usually directed at Baloo. When Rebecca does admit she is wrong, it is a humbling experience indeed; but the effect tends to wear off all too quickly in the light of some new business opportunity.

Ms. Cunningham's willfulness also tends to cloud her better judgment, especially in seeking ways to gain more money. Rebecca constantly complains about Baloo's wild schemes, but hers are just as outrageous — transporting kangaroos and milk together to shake up some butter, cashing in the Sea Duck's insurance policy to buy a fancy magazine ad, and transporting an entire iceberg to satisfy the request of a desert prince. However, superior business sense can be dangerous, as Rebecca has frequently found out.

Rebecca's personal life is complex. The loss of her husband has left Rebecca an independent woman, but she still craves love and romance — a chance to be happy. She expects little of that from the men presently in her life, but twice has Rebecca encountered a mystery man who swept her off her feet and put some romance back into her life. Sadly, one of them was a con artist who was merely using her; the other a dashing gentleman unable to stay with her. For Rebecca, true love seems as fleeting as a ghost.

Still, Rebecca does display her gentler side when she's not being a tough businesswoman. Rebecca can be a very compassionate person toward people she cares about. She was one of the first to see beyond Kit Cloudkicker's rough exterior when they met, and now treats him much like a son. As for Baloo, Becky and Baloo have their differences but they have learned to respect each other and value their friendship — whether it could lead to something more is unforeseen and, for all intents and purposes, unlikely. But one never knows....