Where should I start? Should I begin with the latest since it is freshest in my mind and has the advantage of details not slipping away…yet…like the boat floating away from the dock before a person gets onboard. My dear cousin, Susie, and hubby, Larry, are wonderful people. They planned a trip with their youngest daughter, Kristen, Kristen’s hubby, Cenk, and the three children…Leyla who is 6, Emre and Ezgi who are 2 3/4 for Disneyland. And she also invited her niece, and her two children ages about 9 and 11 to participate. And that trip started today. The Plan: Kristen, Cenk and the kids would fly separately to LAX at about 8:00 a.m. (see I’m already losing the details.). She and Larry would fly at 10:30 to Orange County. So, Susie was to pick the kids up this a.m. at 5:15 and drive them to the Portland airport. When she arrived at their house, she found them all asleep…the clock was set incorrectly. I’m guessing here that the clock is digital. Digital clocks are a bane to man’s existence because they are unreliable because of their difficulty of use. A few days before we left home (Morro Bay) I went to Radio Shack (itself a hard place to find as they shrink in number) and asked them for an analog clock. They had exactly one. I bought it and haven’t had an issue since (well, one, but let’s not dwell on details).
But I digress.
So, the Family Circus ensued. Miraculously, they made it to the airport. Sue dropped them off and was on the way home when the phone rang. They left the kid’s carseats in the car. Sue had to retrace her drive to the airport where they met up to get the carseats. That is when Sue learned that their flight had been delayed for mechanical issues. Sue drove home. A bit later, we arrived as we were giving Sue and Larry a ride to the airport for their flight. We arrived early so she wouldn’t worry about getting to the airport late. The phone rang. The kid’s flight would be about noontime now. Imagine. Three children for hours at the airport. Ugh. Poor everyone.
Sue gave Larry sometime to do and he didn’t hear her. “Larry, do you have your hearing aids on?” Larry replied that his hearing aids were in the suitcase. Oh, my. We jumped in the car and took Sue and Larry to the airport. Three blocks into our mission, Sue asked, “Larry, do you have your wallet?” There was a pregnant pause. “What?”, Larry replied. Sue said again, “Larry, do you have your wallet? If your hearing aids weren’t in your suitcase, you might have heard the question.” Larry said, “No.” Sue said, “You don’t have your wallet?” Larry said he didn’t. Rayman made a u-turn and we went back to the house for the wallet. No I.D., no plane trip. We arrived at the airport. They jumped out and we drove away. They were on their way. But wait. There’s more. Awhile later Sue texted me to report that Larry lost his boarding pass right after Sue gave it to him. Rayman and I howled. This all made us feel good because we are not the only ones that have these type of adventures. In fact, Sue while sitting in the backseat on the way to PDX praised the idea of staying home. “It’s so much easier.” Truer words were never spoken.
So, all you people that think you are the only ones…you are not. Traveling results in many misadventures as well as adventures. It’s like a golf swing. You have a good round and you think to yourself, “My, I have it. I finally have it.” Only to go out after shooting 93 and you shoot 105. That’s how travel is too. Sometimes it goes slick as whistle. The next time it could be a total debacle. So here is to my cousin, dear Susie. May she and her family have a fabulous time at Disneyland. And, yes, Susie, we will see on Thursday when we pick you up (perhaps literally) at the airport. Hope you have a swell trip.
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